insurance – Page 3 – Duane Morris Insurance Law

May 14, 2015May 14, 2015 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Partner Philip R. Matthews Elected a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel

Duane Morris congratulates partner Philip R. Matthews on being elected a Fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC). The ACCEC is composed of preeminent coverage and extracontractual counsel in the United States and Canada, representing the interests of both insurers and policyholders. As the most selective class of ACCEC membership, Fellows must be licensed to practice in the highest court of their respective state and must have at least 15 years of experience in insurance law. For more information, please visit the ACCEC website.

Matthews, of the firm’s San Francisco office, has nearly four decades of experience and has been involved in representing insurers in some of the largest exposures facing the insurance industry during his career, including representing insurers in some of the largest trials and appeals in California. He practices in the area of general civil litigation and insurance counseling and litigation with an emphasis on complex cases, as well as resolving complex insurance coverage disputes through alternative dispute resolution procedures.

April 14, 2015April 14, 2015 by Max H. Stern

Application Exclusion Bars Coverage for Claims Arising from Known, Undisclosed Circumstance

A California Court of Appeal has affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the insurer on defense and indemnity with respect to claims that arose from circumstances known to the policyholder when it applied for professional liability insurance but that were not disclosed to the insurer in the application. Crown Capital Securities, L.P. v. Endurance American Specialty Ins. Co. (Cal.Ct.App, 2d Dist., Div. 5, 4/10/15). Because the application stated that a claim is excluded from coverage if arising from any undisclosed circumstance that was required to be disclosed in response to a question asked, and the application requested disclosure of circumstances that may result in a claim, the policyholder was not entitled to coverage for claims arising from the known but undisclosed circumstance.

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January 28, 2015 by Max H. Stern

California Guidance on Complex Duty to Defend Disputes over Additional Insured Status

In McMillin Companies, LLC v. American Safety Indemnity Co. (4th Dist. Div. 1, No. D063586, January 22, 2015 (published in relevant part)), the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District has provided some meaningful guidance on how a trial court should handle issues that regularly come up in cases where an alleged additional insured claims breach of the duty to defend by multiple insurers, including explaining the significance of an insurer’s unsuccessful attempt to obtain summary judgment on the duty to defend, the significance of other insurer settlements on claims against the remaining insurer, and the procedure for applying an offset to the policyholder’s claim for such settlements.

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January 23, 2015January 26, 2015 by Mark A. Bradford

The Illinois Duty to Defend: Litigation Insurance against Groundless Suits Even When Extrinsic Facts Known to Both Insurer and Insured Would Otherwise Abrogate Coverage

On January 13, 2015, the Illinois Appellate Court issued its opinion in Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Co., 2015 IL App. (1st) 132350 (1st Dist. 2015), wherein the court held the insurer had a duty to defend its insured against numerous vaguely pleaded toxic tort complaints. The central issue in Illinois Tool Works was whether facts extrinsic to the underlying complaint, known to both the insurer and insured, can abrogate the duty to defend. The Illinois Appellate Court held that undisputed extrinsic facts not pleaded in the underlying complaint cannot relieve an insurer of its duty to defend unless and until proven in the underlying action. Continue reading “The Illinois Duty to Defend: Litigation Insurance against Groundless Suits Even When Extrinsic Facts Known to Both Insurer and Insured Would Otherwise Abrogate Coverage”

October 16, 2014October 17, 2014 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Partner Max Stern to Moderate Panel at the American Conference Institute’s National Forum on Insurance Allocation

Duane Morris partner Max H. Stern will be moderating a panel at the American Conference Institute’s (ACI) National Forum on Insurance Allocation on October 29, 2014 at the Carlton Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York. Mr. Stern’s session is titled, “In-House Roundtable: Counsel and Claims Professional Insights on New and Emerging Issues in Insurance Coverage and Allocation,” and will take place at 9:35 a.m.

For more information or to register for this event, please visit the American Conference Institute’s website.

October 16, 2014October 17, 2014 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Partner Dominica Anderson to Speak at the PIAA Corporate Counsel Workshop

Duane Morris partner Dominica C. Anderson will be speaking at the PIAA’s Corporate Counsel Workshop. Ms. Anderson’s session is titled, “ECO/XPL and the Mega-Verdict: Is This the New Normal?” and will begin at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

For more information about this event, please visit our Duane Morris Events Page.

June 12, 2014September 9, 2014 by Duane Morris

Partner Terrance Evans Appointed Vice Chair of the ABA National Insurance Coverage Conference

Congratulations to partner Terrance Evans, of the San Francisco office, on his appointment as Vice Chair of the ABA National Insurance Coverage Conference, the largest insurance coverage conference in the country. Mr. Evans follows in the footsteps of partner Ray Wong, of the San Francisco office, who served as Chair and Vice Chair of the conference, and partner Dominica Anderson, of the Las Vegas office, who served as Vice Chair of the conference.

June 11, 2014September 9, 2014 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Chicago Office Adds Trial Partners Tomas M. Thompson and Mark A. Bradford

Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that Tomas M. Thompson and Mark A. Bradford have joined the firm’s Trial Practice Group as partners in the firm’s Chicago office. Thompson and Bradford, who join from DLA Piper, follow the addition in the firm’s Chicago office of partners Mark D. Belongia and Lisa T. Scruggs, associate David B. Shafer and associate Brian L. Dougherty.

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May 21, 2014September 9, 2014 by Duane Morris

San Francisco Partner Paul Killion Receives National Legal Writing Award

Duane Morris is pleased to announce that partner Paul J. Killion of the firm’s San Francisco office will receive a Burton Award for Legal Achievement at a gala ceremony to be held on June 9, 2014, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. This honor is given to only 30 authors selected from entries from the nation’s 1,000 largest law firms.

Killion was selected as a 2014 Distinguished Legal Writing Award winner for an article he wrote about how to use Internet sources in legal writing. “Warning: The Internet May Contain Traces of Nuts (Or, When and How to Cite to Internet Sources)” appeared in California Litigation: The Journal of the Litigation Section, State Bar of California, last spring.

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April 23, 2014September 9, 2014 by Duane Morris

What I Tell You is Privileged and Protected From Discovery (Even if You Embrace It and Reiterate It to Your Insured)

Insurers often rely upon coverage counsel to advise them of their duties and obligations with respect to claims for coverage by their insureds and then take that advice and communicate it in whole or in part to their insureds. The expectation is that the advice of counsel is privileged even if it is thereafter embraced by the insurer and communicated to the insured. But is it? No, said a trial court in West Virginia, where an insured sought from coverage counsel for the insurer opinion letters the counsel had written to the insurer on similar claims (i.e., claims not involved in the litigation between the insured and the insurer). Continue reading “What I Tell You is Privileged and Protected From Discovery (Even if You Embrace It and Reiterate It to Your Insured)”