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September 6, 2018 Automobile Coverage

Use of Uninsured Vehicle To Transport Victim To Site of Assault Does Not Trigger UM Coverage

On August 14, 2018, in a case of apparent first impression in New Mexico, the New Mexico intermediate appellate court in Crespin v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., 2018 (N.M. Ct. App. 2018) upheld a lower court’s ruling that transporting a minor in an uninsured motor vehicle to another location in order commit a sexual assault does not trigger uninsured motorist (UM) coverage because the assault did not arise out of the use of the uninsured vehicle. The decision rebuffs a novel attempt to …

September 6, 2017 Directors and Officers

Insurer Scores a Slam Dunk in TCPA Suit Before the Ninth Circuit

A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit is sure to catch the eye of insurers for its favorable reasoning rejecting coverage as well as a potential warning sign that policyholders are seeking coverage for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suits beyond CGL policies. In Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Company, No. 15-55777, 2017 WL 3613340 (9th Cir. Aug. 23, 2017), the Ninth Circuit determined there was no coverage for violations of the TCPA under a D&O policy. In short, by analyzing the …

February 6, 2017 Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability / Duty to Defend

A Bad Faith Cautionary Tale: Ninth Circuit Affirms $8.7 Million Award for Bad Faith Coverage Denial

In Millennium Laboratories, Inc. v. Darwin Select Insurance Co., No. 15-55227, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 1533 (9th Cir. Jan. 27, 2017), the Ninth Circuit held that Darwin Select Insurance Company breached its duty to defend its insured, Millennium Laboratories, Inc., against two third-party lawsuits (Ameritox and Calloway). The court further held that Darwin’s failure to defend Millennium was in bad faith.

As background, Millennium filed a complaint seeking coverage regarding two underlying lawsuits alleging Millennium told its customers that its competitors’ businesses …

November 29, 2016 Duty to Defend

Proof’s in the Pudding: Sexual Misconduct Exclusions Do Not Preclude Coverage for Defamation Claims, Massachusetts Federal District Court Says

A federal district court in Massachusetts determined that Bill Cosby’s insurer has a duty to defend the former entertainment icon in three defamation suits despite potentially applicable policy exclusions because the defamation claims did not necessarily “aris[e] out of” sexual misconduct.

In AIG Property Casualty Co. v. Green, Civil Action No. 15-30111-MGM, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154881 (D. Mass. Nov. 8, 2016), the court dismissed an insurer’s attempt to obtain a determination that it had no duty to defend Cosby, finding that the underlying …

November 22, 2016 Life, Health, Disability & ERISA / Regulatory

Cease and Desist: Is This the Beginning of the End for Concierge Medicine Practices?

A small but growing trend to regulate the practice of “concierge medicine” (or “retainer medicine”) could significantly impact the healthcare and insurance industries. On October 11, 2016, the State of Washington Insurance Commissioner issued a Cease and Desist Order against a dental practice in that state, David Ford, DDS dba David Ford Dental. The order obliges the dental practice to immediately cease and desist from:

Engaging in or transacting the unauthorized business of insurance or acting as an unregistered health care service contractor in the

August 8, 2016 Emerging Issues

Seventh Circuit Finds Coverage for State’s Suit Seeking Costs of Drug Addiction

States and municipalities around the country have sued pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in increasing levels of addiction and overuse of pharmaceutical products. These suits have given rise to insurance coverage disputes over whether such claims are covered under the pharmaceutical companies’ policies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has now weighed in on one such dispute and held that West Virginia’s suit seeking recovery of costs it incurred to provide services to citizens addicted to prescription drugs is a covered …

May 13, 2016 Emerging Issues

Citizenship of Unincorporated Associations: Insurers Warned to Take Consistent Positions on Diversity Jurisdiction

Certain insurers must now give pause to the common practice of filing in or removing to federal court on the basis of diversity. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon recently mirrored the majority of federal jurisdictions in ruling that reciprocal insurance exchanges are unincorporated associations, which are deemed to be a citizen of every state in which it has members, or policyholders, regardless of whether those policyholders are involved in the litigation.

In Staggs v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the insured homeowners, …

April 11, 2016 Emerging Issues / Legislative Update

SCOTUS Orders Parties to Brief on Possible Compromise in ACA Case

On March 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Zubik, et al. v. Burwell, the case in which religious not-for-profits are challenging the process in which they can claim a religious exemption to the contraception requirement in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On Tuesday, March 29, 2016, the court issued an unusual order hinting the court might be looking for some kind of compromise to deal with this highly controversial case.

The court’s order requests supplemental briefing on whether there is …

March 23, 2016 Occurrence

It’s Not a Blob, It’s a Probiotic: Wisconsin Supreme Court Applies the “Integrated Systems” Rule in Coverage Dispute

In Wisconsin Pharmacal Company, LLC v. Nebraska Cultures of California, Inc., 2016 WI 14, the Wisconsin Supreme Court applied the “integrated systems” rule to a coverage dispute. In a narrow decision, it reversed the Court of Appeals decision and determined that the incorporation of a defective ingredient into a tablet did not constitute “property damage” caused by an “occurrence.” Further, the Wisconsin Supreme Court concluded that even if “property damage” was alleged, exclusions would apply to bar coverage.

The coverage dispute arose when a …

February 1, 2016 Duty to Defend

Hartford v. Tempur-Sealy: Can an Insurer Rest Easy When a Claim Does Not Appear to Be Covered?

When a complaint specifically denies that the plaintiff is seeking damages covered by an insurance policy, it seems logical that the insurer would not have a duty to defend. However, taking a very broad view of the duty to defend, a California federal court recently held that an insurer did, in fact, have to provide a defense even though the complaint, on its face, did not include a claim for damages covered under the policy. (Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Tempur-Sealy Int’l, Inc., …