Courts continue to struggle with specialty cyber-insurance products
Following a significant victory for policyholders earlier this year for cyber security losses under CGL (Commercial General Liability) policies, in PF Chang’s China Bistro, Inv. v. Federal Ins. Co. a federal judge in Arizona recently [...]
Florida Court of Appeals again holds that insureds may assign rights under a policy after a loss occurs.
Last year, I wrote about a decision by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal (link here) holding that an insured, post-loss, could assign its claim against its homeowner’s insurance policy. Recently, the same issue was [...]
Across the Spectrum: Utah’s Recent Move Toward a Proper Interpretation of “Occurrence” In Commercial General Liability Policies
Fortunately for Utah policyholders, a recent District of Utah decision has continued the trend toward liberalizing Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) coverage in Utah. In The Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Spectrum Devel. Corp, the District of [...]
Insurer’s claim denial may violate state consumer-protection statutes even when the insurer has no duty to defend
As I wrote in an earlier blog post (see my August 10, 2015 article here), insurers have a duty to defend their policyholders against any potentially covered loss, which means that insurers are required to [...]
Florida Court of Appeal case serves as a reminder to be mindful of how claims are pleaded
A recent opinion out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Florida highlights the importance of properly pleading claims so that insurance coverage is triggered. In Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Royal Crane, LLC, Cloutier [...]
Phantom Menace: Beware of Unknown Unknowns in Contracts
Written contracts generally provide a very stable method of making promises enforceable. Reducing all promises to a single self-contained writing reduces surprises and provides a single yardstick to measure compliance. Unfortunately, many contracts today – [...]
Interpreting “vandalism” shows how ambiguity works in insurance-coverage disputes
Intention can be a tricky concept in many areas of the law, from criminal prosecutions to insurance-coverage cases, as illustrated in a recent California case, Hung Van Ong v. Fire Ins. Exchange (Apr. 3, 2015). The Ong [...]
Federal Court in Florida Finds Insurer Has No Duty to Defend Insured During Chapter 558 Process
Recently, a federal district court in Florida held that the Chapter 558 process is not a “suit” under a commercial general liability policy and the insurer had no obligation to defend the insured during this [...]
California court confirms that any “potentially covered” loss triggers the duty to defend
When threatened with a lawsuit, an insured’s first call is often to his or her insurer, asking the insurer to hire lawyers to defend the lawsuit. All too often the insurer’s initial response is that [...]
Insureds should be careful not to release an entire policy
Rather than litigating the amount of coverage, an insured may — and often does — settle the claim. The insured may do this for a variety of reasons, including wanting to avoid the time and [...]