The Complex Insurance Coverage Reporter

CONTRIBUTION

Chem. Solvents, Inc. v. Greenwich Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 868 (6th Cir. Jan. 13, 2023)

A divided Sixth Circuit panel holds that, under Ohio’s “all sums” allocation scheme, “targeted” insurers may seek indemnity contribution from a policy reinsured by a captive insurer. The court rejected the insured’s argument that allowing contribution from a captive it partly owned would undermine the purpose of “all sums,” and explained that “[a]ll sums shifts the burden of calculating relative liability, but it doesn’t absolve the insured of all ... Continue Reading

ANTI-ASSIGNMENT CLAUSE

Pepsi-Cola Metro. Bottling Co. v. Emp’rs Ins. Co., 2022 Wisc. App. LEXIS 598 (Wisc. Ct. App. July 8, 2022)

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (in a divided decision) holds that a “post-loss” assignment of rights under a liability insurance policy is valid despite lack of insurer consent. The majority believed an insurer’s consent to an assignment after “loss” occurs is not required on the basis that the assignment does not increase the insurer’s risk. It referred to Wisconsin’s “longstanding rule” that an anti-assignment clause in an ... Continue Reading

Wave of Deceptive Marketing PFAs Claims Raises “Personal and Advertising Injury” Coverage Issues
By: Gregory S. Capps and Lynndon K. Groff

Companies in various consumer products industries are increasingly facing claims alleging that they have deceptively marketed their products as safe and sustainable when, in reality, those products allegedly contain unsafe and unsustainable levels of chemicals known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or “PFAS.” Since the beginning of 2022, plaintiffs have filed class-action lawsuits against several cosmetics ... Continue Reading

Welcome to CICR’s annual recap of insurance cases you should know about — and others in the pipeline to watch. You can read about our selections for “Cases to Know” and “Cases to Watch” below.

In the last year, we saw COVID-related business interruption disputes continue to dominate the insurance coverage landscape. According to the University of Pennsylvania’s COVID Coverage Litigation Tracker, trial courts have already issued 750+ merits rulings on motions in these cases. The results have overwhelmingly favored insurers. As one court put it, there is “[a]n ... Continue Reading

ARBITRATION

Rossello v. Zurich American Insurance Company, 2020 Md. LEXIS 174 (Md. Apr. 3, 2020)

Maryland’s highest court adopts pro rata allocation for asbestos-related bodily injury claims under liability policies. The court began by explaining that injury spanning many years often implicates multiple policies and therefore implicates a continuous or injury-in-fact trigger under Maryland law. Adopting the reasoning of Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. Utica Mutual Insurance Company, 802 A.2d 1070 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2002), app. dismissed, 821 A.2d 369 (Md ... Continue Reading