Well, this is something. I think the partner who mentored me as a junior associate and I started reserving insurers’ rights to recover defense costs back from insureds if the claim at issue turned out to be uncovered thirty years ago – and someone has finally convinced a Massachusetts court to order an insured to
Duty to Defend
Sanders v. The Phoenix Insurance Company Is a Comprehensive Insurance Coverage Decision, But Have Bad Facts Again Made Bad Law?
So this is interesting, from a couple of perspectives. The First Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a fairly comprehensive opinion addressing a number of issues in insurance coverage law in Massachusetts. The facts are a little salacious, and read more like a John Grisham plot than real life, but unfortunately, odd facts often underlie…
How to Trigger Insurance Coverage for an ERISA Claim
Well, how can I not comment on this, given the focus of both this blog and my practice? The Second Circuit was just presented with the question of whether an insurer has to provide a defense to a company and its officer, under the employee benefits liability portion of a policy, for an ERISA claim…
Then and Now: Proving a Duty to Defend By Using Evidence Outside of a Complaint
You know, this is actually of more personal interest to me than it is probably of importance to insureds, insurers and their lawyers with regard to determining whether a duty to defend exists in a given case. That is because the rule reflected in the case I am about to tell you about is sensible…
Depends on What You Mean By “Related”
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Claims Made Policies, Duty to Defend
Well, here’s a story on an unpublished Ninth Circuit decision on the impact on the duty to defend of related claims provisions in claims made insurance policies. Although policies vary in the language and structure they use to accomplish it, these provisions essentially declare a claim made during a policy period to be linked to…
A Good Reason to Read Your Insurance Policy
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Wow. This is a fascinating insurance coverage story – I know, people who don’t practice in that area will email me in droves to tell me there is no such thing, but still – that illustrates some important points. It is the story of the corporate officer of a juvenile facility that was involved, apparently…
Interesting Developments in the Insurance Coverage World
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Coverage Litigation, Duty to Defend
I thought I would pass on two interesting insurance coverage stories, with some thoughts on each. The first is this one here, about the New Jersey Supreme Court finding that an insurer that loses an insurance coverage action can be ordered to pay attorney’s fees incurred by the insured in a separate but related…
Other People’s Money, Cumis Counsel and the Tripartite Relationship
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Defense Costs, Duty to Defend
We have talked before on this blog about the tripartite relationship among insurers, the defense counsel they appoint, and the insured; this is a topic of wide interest to all sides in the insurer/insured relationship, and, in fact, my handy dandy two minute guide to the relationship’s issues is among my most read pages. However…
Randy Maniloff’s Top Ten Insurance Coverage Decisions for Dummies and the Rest of Us
Some bloggers blog their way to greatness, other bloggers have greatness thrust upon them. For some reason, that line popped into my head when Randy Maniloff’s always entertaining article on the top ten insurance coverage decisions of the past year appeared, like manna from heaven, in my in-box yesterday, providing one weary blogger…
On the Impact of Reservation of Rights Letters
By Stephen Rosenberg on
Posted in Duty to Defend, Duty to Indemnify
I have written before on a number of occasions about the tripartite relationship that comes into play when an insurer retains defense counsel to represent an insured against a covered lawsuit. In particular, I have discussed my views that the relationship is nowhere near as complicated as many people make it out to be, and…