10th Cir. applying Kansas law finds insurer must demonstrate “substantial prejudice.” The Tenth Circuit reversed an earlier win for Lexington Insurance Co., finding the insurer was still potentially on the hook for $7.5 million in damages to a salt mine, even though its policyholder reported water streaming into the mine two years after the problem was actually found. The court... Read More
Finding that product actually contained salmonella unnecessary to conclude “property damage” occurred. The Eighth Circuit has upheld a Minnesota federal judge’s ruling that The Netherlands Insurance Co. must cover instant milk supplier Main Street Ingredients LLC’s $1.4 million settlement with Malt-O-Meal Co. over losses from an instant oatmeal recall tied to salmonella fears. The court rejected Netherlands’ argument that the... Read More
Insured need not obtain insurer consent for settlement to be covered. The Illinois Fourth District Court of Appeals held an insurer liable for a $1,739,000 settlement in a TCPA (“blast fax”) action. This case was on remand from the Illinois Supreme Court which had previously overturned the court’s original finding that TCPA damages were punitive and, thus, not insurable. The... Read More
Pennsylvania law applies and no coverage for TCPA (“blast fax”) action. The Illinois Second District Court of Appeals held that whether Maryland Casualty Company and Assurance Company of America (Zurich) must cover damages relating to a blast fax action turned on whether Pennsylvania or Illinois law applied. Based on the court’s analysis of Pennsylvania federal court opinions, the court held... Read More
Allegation that appraisals for parent company would be given to 3rd party constitutes covered professional services. The Illinois First District Court of Appeals held that Liberty Surplus Insurance Corp. and an Ace Ltd. insurer had a duty under professional liability policies to defend two Hilco Trading LLC subsidiaries against claims that they “grossly inflated” loan collateral appraisals that underlying plaintiffs... Read More
Decision to discontinue program was “professional services.” The First District Appellate Court held that Lexington Insurance Company breached its defense and indemnity obligations with respect to a settlement Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science paid in an underlying suit filed by former patients seeking compensation for the school’s decision to discontinue an experimental breast cancer vaccine program. The court... Read More
The Wisconsin Supreme Court found an asbestos exclusion precluded coverage to the sellers of an apartment building accused of failing to disclose that the structure had ducts that were insulated with asbestos. Contractors renovating the building after the sale worked on the ducts, causing the release of asbestos in the building and making it uninhabitable. Ultimately, the purchasers were... Read More
A Pennsylvania State Appellate Court affirmed a ruling that an excess insurer must defend a policyholder that had exhausted its per–occurrence primary limits. The case involved a manufacturer of a failed flexible connector product in use at a gas station, which caused gasoline to leak onto neighboring properties. Applying Pennsylvania law, the court held that the state does not... Read More
The Florida Supreme Court recently held that a self-insured retention could be satisfied by a third-party payment under an indemnity agreement rather than requiring the policyholder to satisfy the retention separately with its own funds. In the underlying case, a homeowner sued a home-builder when she fell and injured herself on allegedly defective attic stairs. The home-builder’s coverage included... Read More
The Federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held, under South Carolina law, that a policyholder need not prove actual damages in order to recover bad faith punitive damages. When a jury finds a “willful or reckless invasion of a legal right,” punitive damages can be presumed. The policyholder was a window and door manufacturer facing five product liability actions. ... Read More
