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Insurance coverage disputes often turn on the meaning of the specific words used in a policy. Norwegian Hull Club v. North Star Fishing Co., currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, presents a twist—it turns on the meaning of a blank space.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled that neither the policyholder nor the insurer was entitled to summary judgment regarding the interpretation of a critical policy provision, reasoning that an empty field rendered the clause ambiguous. But as the case now proceeds to trial, the most interesting part of the district court’s opinion might be its own blank space: contra proferentem, the argument it doesn’t address.

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In North Carolina, California, Wisconsin and Illinois Sue Companies over PFAS “Forever Chemicals Contamination, colleagues Reza Zarghamee, Mark J. Plumer, Jillian Marullo, Rebecca M. Lee and Ashley L. Meredith examine the lawsuits, along with new state prohibitions and reporting requirements imposed on manufacturers and distributors of products containing PFAS, that signal increased initiative by states to regulate PFAS.

 

 

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GettyImages-1352455992-300x200Earlier in 2022, CBRE forecasted a 14.1% year-over-year increase in construction costs by year-end 2022, as labor and material costs continue to rise, despite the expectation that overall cost inflation for materials would begin to cool by the end of the year. Commercial construction costs have indeed increased, as Turner Construction Company’s Third Quarter 2022 Building Cost Index reported an 8.62% yearly increase from the third quarter of 2021, a 2.18% quarterly increase from the second quarter of 2022. In addition to supply chain issues for building materials, skilled labor shortages and construction wage growth persists.

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GettyImages-1307180215-300x200In 2020 and 2021, Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) were all the rage. A SPAC is a “blank check company,” publicly traded, and organized for the purpose of merging with a private company. It’s a mechanism for a private operating company to go public without doing its own IPO. Though SPACs have existed for decades, their use skyrocketed in the last couple years. While insurers, brokers and attorneys have developed a level of expertise on risks and insurance coverage in connection with SPAC formation and completed de-SPAC transactions, the insurance implications of failed SPACs was not addressed in 2020 and 2021 and is still not fully understood or appreciated.

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In “Policyholders Are Not to Blame for Social Inflation,” a recent article for Law360, Benjamin Tievsky explains why policyholders should be extremely skeptical of social inflation arguments put forward by the insurance industry.

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GettyImages-578751544-300x188Recently, amid the tempest of media coverage surrounding Supreme Court oral arguments in the case of Students for Fair Admission v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, another federal court quietly issued a dispositive order in related coverage litigation, holding that Harvard’s excess carrier, Zurich, had no coverage obligation in the underlying case because Harvard did not provide timely notice under a “claims-made-and-reported” policy. The case is President and Fellows of Harvard College v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 1:21-cv-11530-ADB (D. Mass.).

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GettyImages-520141914-300x200The Russia/Ukraine conflict has led to a monumental decoupling of Russia from the global economy, with dire consequences for many industries—including the aircraft leasing industry. Western governments’ still-evolving sanctions regime has inspired retaliatory decrees by the Russian Federation, which collectively have engendered significant financial losses for companies doing business with Russian entities. As we previously reported, Western companies leasing an estimated $10 billion worth of aircraft to Russian airlines are facing a total loss of their property. Western governments have ordered lessors to repossess aircraft, but a Russian Federation decree mandates that Russian airlines not return (or “export”) such aircraft to their Western owners.

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NY-Cal-flags-278x300Four months ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Adult Survivors Act (ASA) (S.66A/A.648A), creating a one-year window, beginning November 24, 2022, for adult survivors of sexual assault to bring civil claims against their alleged attackers which otherwise would have been time barred. On September 19, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an equivalent law, the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act (AB-2777), which similarly suspends the statute of limitations for civil claims of sexual assault and other vicarious offenses arising out of that conduct starting January 1, 2023. These laws will likely generate a surge of litigation in California and New York, undoubtedly impacting many businesses operating there. Many, if not most, of those companies will look to insurers to furnish legal defenses and to financially support settlements or damage awards based on past policies.

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GettyImages-1096499208-e1663267129510-300x192As the preferred place of incorporation for most U.S. companies, Delaware has long been a leader in the development of statutory and common law on corporate governance. In keeping with this role, the Delaware legislature recently amended its corporate code to permit enhanced legal exculpation of officers of Delaware corporations. Let’s look at this amendment and its implications for D&O insurance.

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The doctrine of contra proferentem—in which a contractual ambiguity is construed against the drafter—has been a bedrock of New York insurance law since at least the 1880s. In “Contra Proferentem Will Remain Alive and Well in NY,” written for Law360, colleagues Benjamin Tievsky, Scott Greenspan and Stephanie Coughlan explore the history of this doctrine and why policyholders should take heart that the necessary protections of contra proferentem are alive and well under New York law.