Additional Insured Obtains Dismissal from Coverage Action on Jurisdictional Grounds

Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Southeastern Mechanical Services Inc. and San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc. (M.D. Fla. June 18, 2010)

Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. ("Liberty Mutual") insured Southeastern Mechanical Services Inc. ("Southeastern"). San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc. ("San Miguel") contracted with Southeastern to perform maintenance work in 2007 during a scheduled service outage at its facility. As part of the agreement, San Miguel required that Southeastern name it as an additional insured party on its Liberty Mutual policy. San Miguel claimed that Southeastern’s

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US Supreme Ct Revives Dismissed Lawsuit Finding Cruise Ship Should Have Known That It Would Have Been Sued

Krupski v. Costa Crociere, S.p.A.

(U.S. Supreme Court, June 7, 2010)

 

Plaintiff Krupski made a mistake in failing to name Costa Crociere, even though it was aware of its existence.  Rather,  Krupski named “Costa Cruises” a related corporate entity that had a Florida address as its listing. Both the district court and the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the action ruling that Krupski delayed filing an amended complaint against Costa Crociere and that its identity was clearly marked on

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E-Discovery: Subpoenas to Facebook and MySpace for Private Messages Quashed

Crispin v. Christian Audigier, Inc.

(C.D. Cal. May 26, 2010)

 

A federal district court recently held that private messages exchanged on Facebook and MySpace cannot be subpoenaed under the 1986 Stored Communications Act. The case is Crispin v. Christian Audigier, Inc., __ F. Supp. 3d __ (C.D. Cal. May 26, 2010).

 

The plaintiff, Buckley Crispin, alleges that between November 2005 and January 2006, he granted defendant Christian Audigier and Christian Audigier, Inc. (“CAI”) an oral license to use certain of his works

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Court Granted Insurer Summary Judgment On Policyholder’s Chinese Drywall Claims

Travco Ins. Co. v. Ward

(United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, June 3, 2010)

 

This environmental coverage dispute resulted from a property loss involving Chinese Drywall installed in policyholder’s residence. Over time, the Chinese Drywall released sulfuric gas into the residence causing damage to the interior structures of the home. Defendant filed a lawsuit against several development and supply companies, alleging that they constructed his home with "inherently defective" drywall. Thereafter, the insurer filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that,

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Bermuda Seminar Entitled “From Claim to Conclusion: Examining Insurance/Reinsurance Coverage Issues for the 21st Century”

On May 18th, the law firm of Goldberg Segalla will present a comprehensive free seminar in Bermuda that will address cutting edge topics such as the latest developments in the recent Ponzi Scheme, understanding the importance of the recent Wasa decision along with emerging insurance issues involving genetically engineered foods, Chinese drywall, green building and the possible emergence of the New York Insurance Exchange and its implications.  CLE is available upon request at registration.

For more information regarding this FREE seminar, please contact Erin Casell …

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PATENT INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS FOUND TO CONSTITUTE “ADVERTISING INJURY”

Hyundai Motor America v. National Insurance Company of Pittsburgh
(9th Cir. (Ca.)
April 5, 2010)

Recently, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a patent
infringement claim constituted “misappropriation of ideas,” triggering a CGL
carrier’s duty to defend under the Personal and Advertising Liability
Coverage.  
 Hyundai’s website featured a “build your own vehicle”
(“BYO”) feature, which allowed users to input information regarding vehicle
preferences and generated customized vehicle images and pricing. 

Orion IP, LLC had patented an “electronic
system for creating customized product proposals”

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New York State Superintendent of Insurance Discusses the Possible Re-Emergence of the New York Insurance Exchange

Last week in London, James Wrynn, New York's Superintendent of Insurance, discussed the possibility of reconstituting a New York Insurance Exchange during a panel conference at the invitation of the Insurance Insider.  While recognizing the challenges to a New York Insurance Exchange, Mr. Wrynn believes that such an exchange could be a tremendous asset in providing the flexibility and technological advancements to the claims process.

A copy of the article summarizing Mr. Wynn's discussion can be found here

Sharon Angelino, Tom Segalla and Dan Gerber

https://www.goldbergsegalla.com/attorneys/Angelino.html

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Texas Supreme Court: Indemnity Duty May Exist Even If Defense Duty Does Not

D.R. Horton-Texas, Ltd. v. Markel Int’l Ins. Co.

(Tex. Dec. 11, 2009)

 

The Texas Supreme Court recently reversed an appellate decision declaring that Markel International Insurance Company was not obligated to indemnify a putative additional insured in underlying construction litigation. The Texas Supreme Court held that Markel may have a duty to indemnify a general contractor for whom Markel’s named insured did work, even though it has no duty to defend that general contractor.

 

Owners of a newly-constructed house sued the general contractor,

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Insurer Ordered to Disclose Documents in Legionnaires’ Outbreak Case

Pentair Water Treatment (OH) Co. v. Continental Ins. Co.

(S.D.N.Y. Nov. 16, 2009)

 

The District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Continental Insurance Company to disclose various underwriting documents and produce underwriting witnesses in a dispute over insurance coverage for a cruise ship outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease. In 1994, passengers on the cruise ship Horizon became ill after an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease. The outbreak was traced to the whirlpool spa on the vessel and, specifically to its filter, which had

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NJ Court Awards Counsel Fees to Prevailing Policyholder For Out of State Declaratory Judgment Actions

Myron Corp. v. Atlantic Mutual Ins. Corp., A-5528-07T2; App. Div. (Reisner, J.A.D.) (June 5, 2009)

Plaintiff policyholder obtained a commercial policy from defendant insurer. As part of the policyholder’s business, it sent various faxes to business throughout the country which prompted lawsuits against it for violation of a federal statute against junk faxes. The policyholder requested defense and indemnification from the insurer for the out-of-state lawsuits. The insurer defended the policyholder, but commenced two  declaratory judgment actions in Illinois seeking a declaration that there was no coverage under its

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