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.
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.
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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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)”
Duane Morris Partner Cyndie Chang to Present at the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Spring Conference
Duane Morris’ Cyndie M. Chang, a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office, will be speaking at the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s spring conference, “Resolution of Property Insurance Claims in the Modern Age-Appraisal, Mediation and Arbitration,” which will be held on April 24-26, 2014, at the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, California. Ms. Chang will participate in a panel discussion on “Mock Mediation of a Property Insurance Claim: Focusing on Preparation as the Key to Success” on Thursday, April 24, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
NY Court of Appeals Revisits Controversial K2 Decision
The New York State Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) has agreed to hear re-argument on K2 Investment Group LLC v. American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Company, 2013 N.Y. LEXIS 1461 (N.Y. June 11, 2013). In K2, the Court held that a liability insurer that declined to provide a defense to its insured on the basis that the liability alleged was not covered might waive all policy defenses if it was later held that a defense should have been supplied.
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In Pair of Cases, 5th Circuit Enforces 30-Day Notice Requirement in Pollution Exclusion Buy-Back Clauses; No Prejudice Need be Shown
In two separate cases – one under Texas law and one under Louisiana law – the Fifth Circuit has reinforced the principle that a 30-day notice provision in a pollution exclusion buy-back clause is strictly enforceable, and an insurer does not need to demonstrate prejudice to deny coverage. In these cases, the Court found that this outcome was consistent with the Court’s prior decision in Matador Petroleum Corp. v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 174 F.3d 653 (5th Cir. 1999), and the Court found that this principle of enforceability was not changed by subsequent notice-prejudice cases.
Exhausting Policy Limits When Settling Less than All Lawsuits
In his latest article, Thomas R. Newman explains his thoughts on handling multiple claims with insufficient limits to cover an insured’s total potential exposure, when not all of the claims are settled.
Mr. Newman practices in the areas of insurance and reinsurance law, including coverage, claims handling, contract drafting and arbitration and litigation. He has served as lead counsel in more than 55 reinsurance arbitrations, representing both cedents and reinsurers. He is often called upon to act as an expert witness in insurance cases in the United States and in London.
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San Francisco Trial Court Is First California Court To Adopt The Wallace & Gale Approach To Asbestos Operations Claims
In what is the first trial court ruling in California on the issue, to our knowledge, the San Francisco Superior Court on January 31, 2013 issued a ruling adopting the Wallace & Gale approach to the completed operations issue for asbestos claims. The decision was issued by San Francisco Superior Court Judge John E. Munter in Phase III of Plant Insulation Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., et al., a multi-phase declaratory relief action pending in San Francisco.
London Market Insurers Prevail Against BP in Insurance Buyback Dispute
The California Court of Appeal has affirmed a judgment that certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London and certain London market insurance companies (London Market Insurers) were entitled to consider all subsidiaries as part of an insurance buyback agreement they had with one of the world’s largest oil companies. On September 13, 2012, a three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. BP America, Inc., et al., Case No. A132298. At issue was more than $1 billion in liability insurance placed by the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in the London insurance market.
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