Applying Illinois Law, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has held that an insurer had no duty to defend a claim reported more than nine months after the end of the policy period. Wesco Ins. Co. v. Elements Architectural Grp., Inc., 2019 WL 5725440 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 5, 2019).
Continue Reading
This article was originally published in Law360.
In Sanders v. Illinois Union Insurance Company, the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois resolved a split in state and federal decisions applying Illinois law on trigger of coverage in the context of wrongful incarceration.[1]
According to the Illinois Supreme Court, the City of Chicago Heights’ insurers had no coverage obligation under policies in effect when the claimant was retried for murder and exonerated, two decades after the initiation of the prosecution. As a result, Illinois law on trigger of coverage for wrongful incarceration lawsuits is now on all fours with decisions by courts nationwide.
An Illinois intermediate appellate court has held that an exclusion for claims arising from “unfair or deceptive business practices” including “violations of any local, state or federal consumer protection laws” did not bar coverage against an insured property manager for alleged violations of a city residential landlord-tenant ordinance. Evergreen Real Estate Servs., LLC v. Hanover Ins. Co., 2019 WL 5704599 (Ill. App. Ct. Nov. 4, 2019).
Continue Reading
Applying Illinois law, a federal district court has held that a policy’s sexual misconduct exclusion did not apply to preclude coverage for an underlying lawsuit against a school district involving a student’s acts of sexual misconduct, where the applicability of the exclusion in that context was not “clear and free from doubt.” Netherlands Ins. Co. v. Macomb Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist., 2019 WL 5417144 (C.D. Ill. Aug 6, 2019).
Continue Reading
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that there is no coverage under a professional liability policy where the claim arose out of the same set of facts upon which a separate lawsuit against the insured was filed before the policy incepted. Arch Ins. Co. v. PCH Healthcare Holdings, 2019 WL 3554062 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 5, 2019). The court further held that the plain language of an exclusion for “healthcare services” precluded coverage for the claim.
Continue Reading
An 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
Applying 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
Applying 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, 2018).
Continue Reading
The 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 claim was asserted. Great Am. Ins. Co. v. State Parkway Condo. Ass’n et al., 2018 WL 433623 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 11, 2018).
Continue Reading
An 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. ProAssurance Specialty Ins. Co., Inc., 2018 WL 3635473 (Ill. App. Ct. July 27, 2018).
Continue Reading