

Narrowly Construing COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Coverage
A 4th District, Division 1, California Court of Appeals panel, in The Inns by The Sea v. California Mutual Ins. Co., decided that civil authority coverage cannot be implicated because “bodily injury” or “property damage” was not the triggering event, but rather the authority’s announcement of a shutdown in mid-March of 2020. The court’s analysis emphasizing the non-event essential espouses that the egg came into life, full force, without the chicken.

Coverage for Malware Attacks – Crytpojacking and Ransomware
With malware attacks on the rise and evolving, policyholders need to secure proper cyber insurance coverage to protect them against the costly expenses of these attacks.

Policyholder's Rights to Challenge Insurer's Control of Counsel
Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) policies, however, rarely bestow a right on the policyholder to select counsel. Nonetheless, policyholders may still secure its choice of counsel where an ethical conflict arises because of the insurer’s “reservation of rights” (“ROR”).

ESTATE LITIGATION AND INSURANCE COVERAGE
While probate and civil litigation address legal issues in separate spheres, those distinct lawsuits often address interwoven factual disputes. Where procuring Professional Liability Trustee insurance is, more times than not, a viable solution, proactive acquisition of insurance coverage trustees placed in a fiduciary duty role. This, access to insurance coverage is more broadly available than many policyholders recognize.

When Insurance Coverage Arises for Implicit As Well As Direct Disparagement
Implicit disparagement is an insurance coverage doctrine often overlooked or misapplied. It first surfaced within the final decade of the last millennium. The reasoning was always there. But, coverage practitioners had not presented the available arguments that demonstrated that “disparagement” offense policy did not require that the allegations addressed all elements to evidence common trade libel law or product disparagement to establish coverage under offense “d”.

TRIGGERS FOR RECOVERY OF PREJUDGMENT INTEREST
Where an insurer had denied a claim and many years have ensued until an adjudication of its duty to defend, prejudgment interest recovery can be significant. This, in turn, can make choice of the forum to pursue a coverage case, as well as what law that forum may apply, a critical decision element for coverage litigation.

Insurance Coverage for and IT Consultant’s Role in Media/Cyber Policy Application
As many entities shift a number of employees to remote desktop work, policyholders face the challenge of procuring appropriate coverage for risks arising from their growing online business operations. Traditional policies leave gaps in coverage for cyber-related claims as their policy language rarely include the necessary protections for injury cause through online operations. Make sure you have the appropriate coverage for your online business by securing Cyber/Media polices into your insurance portfolio.

Illusory Coverage - A Continuing Thorn in the Side of Policyholders
The application of the “illusory coverage” doctrine bars policyholders from coverage they reasonably believe they have. Courts differ on the fact circumstances that trigger application of the “illusory coverage” doctrine. These methods can be categorized into three (3) distinct approaches.

The “Advertiser’s Exclusion” Doesn’t Bar Coverage for Advertisers Who Act Beyond Its Scope
A number of insurers issue standard ISO policies that exclude conduct committed by an insured whose business is advertising, broadcasting, publishing or telecasting. This exclusion can be circumvented, however, where the nature of their conduct of an advertiser is not their principal business.

Preferred General Partnership Liability ("GPL") Policies for Private Equity Firms
Private equity firms could be spending to much money on their D&O policies to cover their partnerships. Or, they could be leaving considerable gaps in their D&O policies to claims arising out of partnerships. A GPL policy can change all that, saving private equities money and providing critical coverage appropriate for private equity partnerships.

Why NFT Valuation Represents an Insurable Asset
Insurers may well find themselves embroiled in policyholder quests to secure defense fee reimbursement arising out of lawsuits contesting rights to NFTs and infringing uses of asserting NFT rights.

Reach for the Stick: Why Dynamite is Less Dangerous Than "Claims Made & Reported" Policies
Dynamite is inherently risky and should be treated with kid gloves. Nitroglycerin, an element, within the dynamite is susceptible to shock and so must be handled with extreme caution and care. Compared to dynamite, “Claims-Made-and-Reported” policies include a number of traps for the unwary policyholder that if not mindful can result in major losses.

Insurance Coverage for COVID-19 Infection Claims by Employees Returning to Work
Businesses are beginning to re-open and their employees are returning to work. Employers need to be prepared for the evolving threat of COVID-19 infection and employee infection claims. Learn more about how to find insurance coverage when workers’ compensation may not be not enough.

The Gorilla in the Closet: Insurers Take a Superficial View of Covid-19 Science
COVID-19 is the type of all-encompassing loss event that upends the risk calculations on which insurers build their businesses.

Conservative 5th Circuit Broadly Construes "Publication" in Policy to Cover Hack
Despite generally analogous insurance policies being available across the country, the location of a lawsuit and the predispositions of particular courts can often be determining factors in coverage lawsuits, particularly where a case comes down to conventions of policy interpretation.

Insurance Coverage Under E&O/D&O Policies for Fraud
In RSUI Indemnity Co. v. Murdock, a D&O policy was found to require the defense of a federal securities action. The court affirmed the trial court’s determination that a Profit/Fraud Exclusion did not apply, because there was no adjudication of the underlying action, which was a requirement for the exclusion.

Insurance Coverage for Trade Secret Lawsuits under CGL Policies
The defendant in a trade secret lawsuit can often turn to its Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance policy find coverage for its defense and liability.

Expanding Opportunities for Coverage of M&A Transactions in Representation and Warranty Insurance
The prevalence of RWI may lead corporations and their coverage counsel to ask whether it makes sense for them. How big must a deal be to make such a policy worthwhile? What opportunities exist—where can a policy be found, and what limits are available? Are there any pitfalls?

Duplicitous and Overbroad Insurer Constructions of Exclusions Improperly Deprive Policyholders of Coverage Benefits
Insurers, incentivized to avoid their duty to defend policyholders in lawsuits, have sometimes embraced the idea that even one connection between a policy exclusion and a claim is enough to relieve them of that duty. While a policy may state that it does not indemnify certain alleged offenses by the insured, the insurer should not be able to deny a defense where those allegations comprise only a portion of an otherwise covered suit.

Narrow, Narrower and Narrowest: The Insurer's Playbook to Avoid Coverage
A recurring theme in Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) policy forms is that there has been an ongoing narrowing of “personal injury”/ “advertising injury” coverage provisions.