A loyal blog reader wrote in recently noting a glaring omission of this blog, notably the absence of a subcategory heading over on the left hand side of the blog collecting case law and comments on excess insurance issues. I have added the menu option over there, so readers can find excess cases easily. And
Defense Costs
Insurance Policy Interpretation and ERISA Conflict of Interests
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Defense Costs, Rules of Policy Interpretation
Insurance coverage could learn a bit from the law of ERISA, particularly from the concept of structural conflicts of interest that is so much in play in ERISA litigation at the moment. In the world of insurance coverage litigation, insurers almost invariably stand in exactly the position that ERISA decisions view as a structural conflict:…
Reimbursement of Defense Costs
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Defense Costs
I doubt there is anything that has been the subject of more incessant chatter at seminars, with less to show for it, than the question of when, or if, an insurer can obtain reimbursement of defense costs incurred on uncovered claims. Ever since the California Supreme Court issued its ruling in Buss, the issue…
More on Who Should Pay for the Defense of Corporate Officers and Directors
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Defense Costs, Directors and Officers
Looks like I was not the only one intriqued by the article earlier in the week in the New York Times about companies who stop paying the legal bills of their officers, directors or employees, and the effect it has on the affected individuals. The wired gc talks about it here http://www.wiredgc.com/2006/04/17/corporate-legal-defense-fees-and-cooperation/.
This is…
Funding the Defense of Corporate Directors and Officers
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Defense Costs, Directors and Officers
Directors and officers policies generally require an insurer to pay the defense costs incurred by a covered corporate officer when a claim is made against her or him. The insurer in that circumstance does not actually provide a defense, but instead, under the terms of the policies, normally must reimburse either the officer for his…