By Ashley-Anne L. Criss on Posted in CooperationAn Illinois appeals court has held that an insured had the right to select independent counsel under a duty to defend policy where the insured faced a substantial, uncovered punitive damages award. See Xtreme Prot. Servs., LLC v. Steadfast Ins. Co., 2019 WL 1976482 (Ill. App. Ct. May 3, 2019).… Continue Reading
By Jessica N. Gallinaro on Posted in Cooperation,Excess insurance/exhaustionApplying Illinois law, a federal district court has held that a cooperation clause in an excess insurer’s policy did not entitle the excess insurer to compel production of the insured’s settlement agreement with a primary carrier. Homeland Ins. Co. of N.Y. v. Health Care Serv. Corp., 2019 WL 1499300 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 3, 2019).… Continue Reading
By Danielle Barondess on Posted in Related Claims and associated exclusionsApplying Illinois law, a federal district court has held that ten lawsuits against an anatomical donation company for alleged mishandling and sale of human body parts are “related” and constitute a single “Claim” under a professional liability policy. Lloyd’s Syndicate 3624 v. Biological Res. Ctr. of Ill., LLC, 2018 WL 4489589 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 19,… Continue Reading
By Margaret Thomas on Posted in Related Claims and associated exclusions,Wrongful ActThe United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that three claims brought by a resident against a condominium owners’ association for alleged discrimination and retaliation involved related wrongful acts and therefore are properly treated as a single Claim deemed first made during the claims-made policy period when the first such… Continue Reading
By Nicole Audet Richardson on Posted in “Claim”,Notice of ClaimAn Illinois appellate court has held that a trial court properly awarded judgment to an insurer because it had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured under its claims-made-and-reported policy where notice of the underlying negligence lawsuit came in more than nine months after the policy was cancelled. Southwest Disabilities Services and Support v.… Continue Reading
By Matthew W. Beato on Posted in Dishonesty ExclusionAn Illinois intermediate appellate court has held that an intentional acts exclusion precluded a duty to defend a lawsuit alleging that an insured engaged in willful misconduct. Ill. State Bar Ass’n Mut. Ins. Co. v. Leighton Legal Grp., Inc., 2018 WL 2688182 (Ill. App. Ct. May 22, 2018).… Continue Reading
By Nathan Lovett on Posted in “Claim”,Excess insurance/exhaustionThe United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that a government-issued subpoena constituted a Claim under the directors and officers liability policies at issue, thus allowing a company’s coverage action to proceed against its primary and excess insurers. Astellas US Holding, Inc. v. Starr Indem. & Liab.… Continue Reading
By Matthew W. Beato on Posted in Related Claims and associated exclusionsAn Illinois federal court has held that multiple claims arising from the termination of a single employee arose from the same “Interrelated Wrongful Acts” and were deemed a single claim made at the time of the first such claim. Twin City Fire Ins. Co. v. Permatron Corp., 2018 WL 1565599 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 30, 2018).… Continue Reading
By Edward R. Brown on Posted in Cyber Policies and IssuesA New York federal district court has ruled that two exclusions in a cyber risk policy barred coverage for a claim alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Flores v. ACE American Ins. Co., No. 17-cv-8674 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 30, 2018). Among other rulings, the court held that the TCPA was not a “Privacy Regulation”… Continue Reading
By Bonnie Thompson on Posted in Loss,Prior Knowledge/Warranty Exclusion,RescissionAn Illinois intermediate appellate court, applying Illinois law, has held that a renewal insurance policy may only be rescinded based on material misrepresentations made in the renewal application, and not based on misrepresentations made in applications for prior policies. Ill. State Bar Ass’n Mut. Ins. Co. v. Rex Carr Law Firm, 2017 WL 2806126 (Ill.… Continue Reading
By Margaret Thomas on Posted in “Claim”,Notice of ClaimThe Appellate Court of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that an insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify an insurance agent under an errors and omissions liability policy where the agent failed to provide notice of the claim during the policy period in which the claim was first made. James River Ins. Co.… Continue Reading
By Bonnie Thompson on Posted in “Claim”,Insured v. Insured Exclusion,Related Claims and associated exclusionsAn Illinois federal court, applying Illinois law, has held that an insurer who declined to advance defense costs was not estopped from asserting policy defenses in a coverage action later filed by the policyholder corporation. Vita Food Prods., Inc. v. Navigators Ins. Co., 2017 WL 2404981 (N.D. Ill. June 2, 2017). The court also held… Continue Reading
By Emily S. Hart on Posted in Defense Costs,Dishonesty Exclusion,Prior Knowledge/Warranty ExclusionApplying Illinois law, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held that an insurer who initially refused to defend its insured and waited five years to bring an action for declaratory relief was precluded from raising policy defenses to indemnity. Title Indus. Assurance Co. v. First American Title Ins. Co., 2017… Continue Reading
By Matthew W. Beato on Posted in Professional ServicesApplying Illinois law, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held that a lawsuit that mentioned that the insured provided professional services to the claimant, but did not directly assert that any of the wrongdoing in the complaint arose from those services, was not a covered claim under a real estate… Continue Reading
By Edward R. Brown on Posted in Excess insurance/exhaustionAn Illinois intermediate appellate court has held that excess insurance policies requiring “actual payment” by an underlying insurer for exhaustion purposes were not triggered where the insurer “pledged” its policy as collateral and agreed to advance defense costs until its policy was exhausted but did not make “actual payment” in legal currency. Ritchie v. Arch… Continue Reading
By on Posted in Rescission,Rescission-Materiality,Rescission-WaiverThe U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that an insurer was entitled to rescission of a policy where the insured made material misrepresentations in its application. Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. Robert S. Forbes PC, 2017 WL 86136 (S.D. Ill. Jan. 10, 2017). The court also held that… Continue Reading
By Edward R. Brown on Posted in Loss,Personal Profit/Advantage exclusion,Wrongful ActAn Illinois federal district court has held that a lawsuit seeking to recover amounts an insured wrongfully refused to pay to another sought only uninsurable restitutionary-type relief, not “Damages,” and thus did not trigger an insurer’s defense obligations under an E&O policy. Westport Ins. Corp. v. M.L. Sullivan Ins. Agency, Inc., 2017 WL 56635 (N.D.… Continue Reading
By Ashley-Anne L. Criss on Posted in “Claim”,Related Claims and associated exclusionsThe United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying federal and Illinois law, has found that an employment discrimination lawsuit was “first made” within a professional liability policy’s policy period despite the fact that the lawsuit’s required precursor, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge, was filed before the policy period. John… Continue Reading
By Matthew W. Beato on Posted in Defense CostsThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, applying Illinois law, has held that extrinsic evidence that does not decide an “ultimate issue” in the underlying claim may be admitted in a declaratory judgment action for purposes of establishing that an insurer has no duty to defend. Landmark Am. Ins. Co. v. Hilger,… Continue Reading
By Nicole Audet Richardson on Posted in Notice of Potential Claim (Timeliness),RescissionA federal district court in Illinois has granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment rescinding three consecutive professional liability policies. This comes after the court determined under Illinois law that the insured attorney made material misrepresentations in each of the renewal applications. Minn. Lawyers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Schulman, 2016 WL 4988006 (N.D. Ill. Sept.… Continue Reading
By Bonnie Thompson on Posted in Notice of ClaimAn Illinois federal district court has granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment that it had no duty to defend or indemnify an insured law firm or its principals in a defamation action based on the insureds’ failure to comply with the notice provisions in the policy. Sentinel Ins. Co., Ltd. v.… Continue Reading
By Nicole Audet Richardson on Posted in “Claim”,Consent to settle/incur defense costs,Notice of ClaimAn Illinois federal court, applying Illinois law, has ruled that, due to lack of proper notice, an E&O insurer had no duty to indemnify its insured auto insurance company’s $7 million settlement payment stemming from a bad faith claim in an underlying auto accident lawsuit. Lexington Ins. Co. v. Horace Mann Ins. Co., 2016 WL… Continue Reading
By Emily S. Hart on Posted in Other: “Legal Fees” ExclusionThe United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, applying Illinois law, has held that an exclusion barring coverage for “claim[s] for legal fees, costs or disbursements paid or owed to you” applies to bar coverage for an arbitration award adjusting the amount of attorneys’ fees owed to an insured law firm. Edward T.… Continue Reading
