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 …

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Fax Blast From the Past: Third Circuit Denies Coverage in TCPA Action

The Third Circuit denied coverage for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), while also ruling on a jurisdictional question regarding the amount in controversy applicable to declaratory judgment actions when they emanate from a class action lawsuit. This case reminds that even without a TCPA exclusion, blast fax suits may not present covered property damage or advertising injury claims.

In Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. Stevens & Ricci, Inc., No. 15-2080, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16182, (3d Cir. Sep. 1, 2016), …

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Another Nail in the Junk Fax Coffin: Wisconsin Joins Illinois, California, Michigan, and Oklahoma in Finding No Coverage for TCPA Suits

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held in a recent decision that a standard TCPA exclusion precludes coverage for all causes of action brought by the plaintiff that emanated from the unauthorized sending of faxes. This includes a common law conversion cause of action, as well as a cause of action for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

As background, in State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Easy PC Solutions, LLC, No. 2014AP2657, 2015 Wisc. App. LEXIS 855 (Wisc. Ct. App. Dec. …

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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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Violation of Statutes Exclusion Bars Coverage for Ancillary TCPA Claims

In Emcasco Insurance Co. v. CE Design, Ltd., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Court granted summary judgment to Emcasco, finding it had no duty to defend the insured against a junk fax suit. In doing so, the court joined a number of jurisdictions holding that an ISO exclusion in a commercial general liability policy applies to all claims that arise, even indirectly, from violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. § 227).

As background, CE Design brought a …

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Illinois Appellate Court Extends Bridgeview on Choice of Law and Finds No Duty To Defend Against Blast Fax Suit

After vacating its prior decision pursuant to an order by the Illinois Supreme Court, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, in G.M. Sign, Inc. v. Pennswood Partners, Inc. 2015 IL App (2d) 121276-B, determined that the insurers, Maryland Casualty Company and Assurance Company of America (collectively “Zurich”), had no duty to defend or indemnify Pennswood Partners, Inc., with respect to a blast fax case filed by G.M. Sign, Inc. The crux of the Appellate Court’s decision was how to properly analyze a …

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Violation of Statutes Exclusions Bars Coverage Entirely for TCPA Claims

In Addison Automatics, Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., No. 13-cv-1922 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 31, 2015) the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of the Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. and Twin City Fire Insurance Co. (collectively “Hartford”) and against Addison Automatics, Inc. (“Addison”). The district court held that Hartford had no duty to defend their insured, Domino Plastics, Inc. (“Domino”), because the Violation of Statutes Exclusions in the policies barred coverage entirely.

The underlying lawsuit …

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TCPA Lawsuit Quacks Again: Courts Continue to Apply Violation of Statutes Exclusion in Favor of Insurers

The Illinois Appellate Court recently modified and reissued an earlier ruling involving an insurer’s duty to defend and indemnify against an underlying TCPA lawsuit.  G.M. Sign, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., No. 2-13-0593, 2014 IL App (2d) 130593 (Modified September 2, 2014). We previously reported on this important decision on May 19, 2014.  See, If It Walks Like a Duck and Talks Like a Duck … IL Appellate Court Applies Violation of Statutes Exclusion To Preclude Coverage for Non-TCPA Counts in

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Federal Courts Again Unwilling To Hear TCPA Disputes

Less than two weeks after the Sixth Circuit used the anti-aggregation rule to dismiss a TCPA coverage action on grounds that it failed to satisfy the amount in controversy requirement, for purposes of diversity jurisdiction, the First Circuit likewise dismissed a TCPA action on substantially similar grounds.  In CE Design, Ltd. v. American Economy Insurance  Co. (1st Cir. Jun. 19, 2010), the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the claimant-initiated insurance coverage action did not satisfy the amount in controversy requirement.  Like the Sixth …

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