The Complex Insurance Coverage Reporter

The United States Supreme Court agreed today to review a Fourth Circuit decision that denied an insurer standing to object to an asbestos producer’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan, on the basis that the insurer’s interests were not affected by the plan. The case provides the high court with an opportunity to resolve a recurring issue in mass tort bankruptcies which has split the circuits.

The appeal arises out of the Chapter 11 case of Kaiser Gypsum, filed in North Carolina. Kaiser Gypsum’s plan proposed that an asbestos claim trust would be assigned the debtor’s rights ... Continue Reading

DEFENSE COST REIMBURSEMENT

Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Winder Labs., LLC, 73 F.4th 934 (11th Cir. 2023)

Eleventh Circuit predicts that, under Georgia law, insurers found to have no duty to defend underlying suits could not recoup defense costs from their insureds pursuant to a reservation of rights (ROR) where the GL policies at issue did not provide for reimbursement. The court concluded that the reimbursement provision in the insurers’ ROR letters was not supported by new consideration (since the policies already required the insurers to defend certain suits) and thus did not create a ... Continue Reading