Over time, New York’s courts have erected multiple barriers to policyholders seeking to recover insurance for long-tail, progressive injury claims—such as environmental or asbestos liabilities—that can implicate multiple policies over multiple policy terms. Now, in a New York minute, just weeks after hearing oral argument, the Empire State’s highest court…
What a difference a word makes! Today’s words are “the,” “an,” “any,” and especially “you.” Most Commercial General Liability policies include a coverage enhancement known as a “separation of insureds” or “severability of interests” clause. This clause states that the policy’s coverage is to apply “separately” to each insured against…
New York’s Martin Act has a lot of Wall Street and energy industry companies concerned about potential investigations into their respective stances on climate change. In the client alert “When Attorneys General Attack,” colleagues Sheila Harvey, Joseph Jean, Carolina Fornos and Benjamin Tievsky examine the act and discuss strategies for…
Sometimes a phrase is repeated so often that we forget what it meant in the first place. Perhaps that is the case with the phrase “the duty to defend is broader than the duty indemnify.” This statement has been made by courts frequently and repeatedly over at least the past…
In Fabozzi v. Lexington Insurance Company, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reaffirmed that ambiguities in an insurance policy must be construed against the insurer. The Fabozzis were renovating their home when they learned that its interior walls were so rotted that the entire house…
Houdini managed an escape from a straight jacket while suspended 40 feet in the air. But that trick turned out to be easier than a primary insurer’s recent attempt to escape its duty to defend in California. In Underwriters of Interest Subscribing to Policy No. A15274001 v. ProBuilders Specialty Ins.…
Acquiring adequate insurance coverage against environmental risks, in particular the spill or release of pollutants or contaminants in day-to-day operations, is important to many construction businesses confronting the requirements of environmental regulation. For example, EPA’s hazardous waste rules require permittees (at both the state and federal level) to demonstrate financial…
The universe of insurers still available to pay long-tail liability claims (e.g., asbestos, pollution, and other health hazards) is getting smaller every year. Significant domestic insurers like The Home, Midland and Mission declared bankruptcy years ago. Significant London Market companies continue to fade away, depriving policyholders with historic London Market…
California’s Supreme Court has closed a loophole of its own creation. The 12-year-old Henkel decision—which permitted insurers to avoid liability for losses when the insured subsequently assigned its policy rights to another entity—has been overruled. Virtually all insurance policies contain language prohibiting assignment of the policy without the insurer’s prior…
In Texas and other states, the mineral owner can freely use the surface estate to the extent reasonably necessary for the exploration, development and production of oil and gas. That includes activities such as building roads, drilling wells and transporting equipment and personnel. But frustrated property owners are increasingly bringing nuisance…