Eleventh Circuit Upholds Florida’s Strict Interpretation of Eight Corners Rule in Stabbing Case

In Mt. Hawley Ins. Co. v. Roebuck, the liability insurer for the owners of a Florida outdoor shopping mall sought to avoid coverage in connection with a stabbing that occurred at the mall based on the insureds’ failure to comply with conditions precedent to coverage. The Eleventh Circuit, however, in agreement with the district court, found that because the facts extrinsic to complaint that were necessary to establish the conditions’ application were in dispute, the insurer owed a duty to defend.

Mt. Hawley …

Continue Reading

Illinois Federal District Court Determines Policy Intent Trumps Policy Language

In an interesting decision handed down late last year, an Illinois federal district court in Ohio Security Insurance Company v. Truck Tire Sales, Inc. determined coverage was not available after carefully considering the policy intent and application for insurance. The district court held that irrespective of broad policy language, “the policy reflects that it was sought for the purpose of insuring [the insured’s] activities related only to [one part of its business].”

The dispute arose when an employee of the named insured, Truck Tire Sales, …

Continue Reading

No Defense Owed to Insured for Mediation Involving Environmental Contamination

The Illinois Appellate Court recently held that the term “suit” in a commercial general liability policy does not include a pre-suit mediation between the insured and others over the allocation of costs incurred to remediate environmental contamination. As a result, the court ruled that the insurers had no obligation to reimburse the insured for its legal fees incurred in the mediation.[1]

The insured operated a manufacturing facility on a property that was eventually declared a Superfund site by the U.S. EPA. To avoid litigation …

Continue Reading

This is No “Accident”: Ohio Court Rules CGL Policy Doesn’t Cover Shoddy Subcontractor Work

One of the ongoing battles in construction defect coverage law around the country is whether a general contractor’s commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy obligates the insurer to defend and indemnify the general contractor in a lawsuit based on faulty work performed—not by the general contractor—but on its behalf by a subcontractor. Yesterday, Ohio joined a small minority of states when its high court ruled that damage from a subcontractor’s faulty work is not an accident triggering an insurer’s defense obligation.

The case dealt with construction …

Continue Reading

Courts Continue to Limit Coverage for Data Breach Claims under CGL Policies

This past week, a Florida federal court dealt another blow to policyholders seeking coverage for data breach claims under traditional commercial general liability (CGL) policies, finding that coverage was not afforded under a CGL policy for a claim involving a data breach incident that exposed credit card information and resulted in more than $1.4 million in damages. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Rosen Millennium, Inc., No. 617CV540ORL41GJK, 2018 WL 4732718 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 28, 2018). Given the increasing frequency and magnitude …

Continue Reading

New York Court Finds Insured Failed to Establish its Broad Discovery Demands Might Lead to Evidence Relevant to the Application of an Exclusionary Provision in Commercial General Liability Policy

In Northfield Insurance Company v. Golob, an insurer issued a commercial general liability policy to owners of a residential construction project. The policy contained an exclusion titled “Contracted Persons” exclusion, which barred coverage for bodily injury sustained by any person “employed by . . . any organization that . . . [c]ontracted with [the named insured] or with any insured for services” where the injuries “[arose] out of and in the course of employment by that organization.”

As a part of the construction project, …

Continue Reading

Do Insurers Have an Interest in Interest?

“In some states, interest can be a significant portion of a judgement,” Goldberg Segalla partners Jonathan Schapp and Michael T. Glascott explain. “Although it is not generally expected that interest on a judgment falls within the coverage provided under a commercial general liability policy, many policies contain a Supplementary Payment provision which could give rise to an obligation to reimburse such interest.”

In a new article for Claims Journal, Jon and Mike take an in-depth look at how interest accrues, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, …

Continue Reading

Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars: Seventh Circuit Parses Through Insured’s Gamesmanship to Find No CGL Coverage for Settlement of Faulty Workmanship Claim

In Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Metro North Condominium Ass’n, No. 16-1868, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 4107 (March 8, 2017), the Seventh Circuit found coverage unavailable for a settlement of a lawsuit against a subcontractor alleged to have improperly installed windows at a condominium building. The court’s holding, in essence, was that the bases for the settlement were inconsistent with the claims against the subcontractor, and the only such viable claims could not possibly have been covered under the subject CGL policy.…

Continue Reading