Take My Word For It: Insurer Bound by Insured’s Oral Promise

It is rare that insurance coverage is provided based on an oral agreement. However, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that an additional insured endorsement allowed the policyholder to add insureds by oral agreement, regardless of when a written certificate of insurance verifying the addition was issued. The case illustrates the evidentiary dangers of broadly worded additional insured provisions that extend coverage by an oral agreement.

In this case, the putative additional insured, Vita Food Products, entered into a contract with …

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No Coverage for Consumer Privacy Claims Say Third Circuit and Seventh Circuit

In two recent cases, the Third Circuit and Seventh Circuit each found an absence of coverage under general liability policies resulting from consumer privacy claims, one for alleged violations of a state ZIP code statute and another for alleged violations of a state unauthorized recording statute. Since both cases involved coverage for class action lawsuits seeking statutory damages, these are big wins for insurers.

First, the Third Circuit in OneBeacon America Insurance Co. v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., No 14-2976, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 16399 …

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“It Wasn’t Me, It Was Lil Johnny!” Wisconsin District Court Holds Third-Party Publication Triggers Prior Publication Exclusion

In Design Basics LLC v. J & V Roberts Investments, Inc., No. 14-cv-1083-JPS, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121372 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 11, 2015), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin determined, in pertinent part, that in a case involving allegations of copyright infringement, a commercial general liability insurer, Acuity A Mutual Insurance Company (Acuity), had no duty to defend because the prior publication exclusion barred coverage.

The dispute arose when the plaintiffs, who are engaged in the business of publishing …

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Untimely Intervention Sinks Insurer Challenge To Allegedly Collusive $20MM Settlement

In CE Design Ltd. v. King Supply Co., LLC, No. 12-2930, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 11117 (7th Cir. June 29, 2015), the Seventh Circuit denied as untimely the attempted intervention of three insurers (all CNA companies) into the underlying lawsuit. The insurers were, in turn, unable to challenge the approval of a $20 million settlement between the policyholder, King Supply Co., LLC, and Plaintiff CE Design Ltd. (and its co-plaintiff).

The underlying case involved a junk fax lawsuit filed by CE Design against King …

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A Continuing Trend of Illinois State Courts Finding Trigger for Malicious Prosecution is Initiation of Prosecution — Not Termination of Proceedings

On April 21, 2015, we wrote about the Illinois Appellate Court Second District’s decision in Indian Harbor Insurance Co. v. City of Waukegan, 2015 IL App (2d) 140293 (Mar. 6, 2015). There, the Appellate Court followed its decision in St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. City of Zion, 2014 IL App (2d) 131312, which held that only the date of conviction triggers malicious prosecution coverage. As we noted, this constituted a rejection of the Illinois Supreme Court precedent, Security Mutual

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Illinois Appellate Court Continues To Rollback Seventh Circuit Rulings on Trigger of Coverage for Wrongful Conviction Claims

In yet another decision eviscerating the line of cases from the Seventh Circuit holding that the trigger of coverage for a wrongful conviction claim is the date of favorable termination, and not the date of conviction, the Illinois Appellate Court, Second District in Indian Harbor Insurance Co. v. City of Waukegan, 2015 IL App (2d) 140293 (Mar. 6, 2015), sided with the majority of courts to have addressed this issue, holding that only the date of conviction triggers malicious prosecution coverage.

As background, Juan …

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Seventh Circuit Holds Insurance Adjusters Owe No Legal Duty to the Insured

In Lodholtz v. York Risk Services Group, Inc. (Feb. 11, 2015), the Seventh Circuit afforded liability protection to outside claims adjusters by holding that they owe no legal duty to the insured. As background, York Risk Services Group, Inc. (“York”) was an insurance adjuster retained by Granite State Insurance Company (“Granite”), the insurer of Pulliam Enterprises, Inc. (“Pulliam”). Robert Lodholtz, the plaintiff, sustained injuries in a factory belonging to Pulliam and subsequently sued Pulliam. There was some confusion with regard to whether Granite would provide …

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