Firm News

In President and Fellows of Harvard College v. Zurich America Insurance Co., 77 F.4d 33 (1st Cir. 2023), the court upheld the insurance company’s forfeiture of the right to coverage based on untimely notice under the terms of a claims-made liability policy. ...

In Star Surplus Lines Insurance Co. v. 8th Judicial District Court in and for County of Clark, 535 P.3d 254 (2023), the insured argued that the presence of Covid-19 constituted “direct physical loss or damage” triggering coverage.  The claimant pointed to what it...

Under California law – the California Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act, Vehicle Code § 34600 et seq., a commercial automobile liability policy terminates on the date stated in either the policy or in any endorsement to the policy, irrespective of whether the...

In a split decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Jones v. J. Kim Hatcher Insurance Agencies, Inc., 893 S.E.2d 1 (N.C. App. 9/5/23) held that the insured’s failure to read the policy application that the insured signed after it was prepared by the insurance...

In Burt v. Travelers Commercial Insurance Co., No. 22-CV-03157-JSC, 621 F.Supp.3d 1049 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 16, 2022), the District Court held that the insured’s homeowner policy did not provide coverage for the theft of digital currency.  The theft of cryptocurrency from...

Montana has a statutory cap on tort damages for county governments.  See Montana Code §2-9-108(1).  Tort damages are capped at $750,000.  In Daniels v. Gallatin County, 2022 Mt 137, 513 P.3d 514 (Mt 2022), the Montana Supreme Court held that where an insurance company...

In the Matter of the Certification of a question of law from the United States District Court, District of South Dakota, Central Division, 2022 SD 51, 980 NW.2d 229 (SD 8/24/22), a South Dakota court held that SDCL 58-29B-56, which provided that in South Dakota an...

In Buarque de Macedo v. Auto Insurance Co. of Hartford, Connecticut, 480 MD 200, 280 A.3d 679 (Md. App. 2022), the Maryland Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to a household exclusion in a personal umbrella policy.  The case involved a motor vehicle accident.  As a...

In Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas, Inc. v. PHL Variable Insurance Companies, 79 F.4th 1321 (10th Cir. 2023), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, predicting Kansas law, held that the statute of limitations on a beneficiary’s claim for wrongful termination...

Under Wyoming law a four-year statute of limitations is applicable to ordinary negligence claims.  An open question existed under Wyoming law as to whether insurance agents malpractice claims were also subject to the four-year general statute of limitations.  However,...