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Am I Covered For? . . . A Discussion of Insurance Coverage Issues

July 8th, 2025|Categories: CLE OnDemand, Complex Business Litigation, Corporate Compliance, Insurance|Tags: , , , , , , |

Join Steven J. Pudell and Christina Yousef of Anderson Kill and William Harrison of Gallagher for an engaging CLE webinar introducing the fundamentals of insurance coverage. This session breaks down the differences between first-party and third-party claims and provides an overview of key insurance policies—including general liability, property, D&O, E&O, employment practices, cyber, commercial crime, and product recall. Through real-world examples and practical tips, the panel will highlight common challenges policyholders face and how courts have addressed key coverage issues. Ideal for those new to insurance or looking for a comprehensive refresher.

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Arson Investigations: Best Practices for Establishing Fraud and Avoiding Bad Faith

April 25th, 2025|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Insurance|Tags: , , , , |

Arson-related insurance claims are rising—and so are the risks for insurers who don’t investigate thoroughly and by the book. Guest contributor Melissa A. Segel breaks down how carriers can use modern tools, smart strategy, and legal precision to uncover fraud while steering clear of costly bad faith pitfalls. A must-read for anyone navigating the intersection of fire science and insurance law.

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2025 California Wildfires Prompt Wave of Suits

March 11th, 2025|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Bret Thurman provides an in-depth look at the surge of legal actions stemming from the catastrophic 2025 California wildfires, which caused widespread destruction across Southern California. He explores the numerous lawsuits filed against major utility companies like Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), as well as actions against landlords accused of price gouging in the wake of the disaster. Key legal theories include negligence, inverse condemnation, and public nuisance, with plaintiffs arguing that mismanagement, delayed responses, and regulatory failures significantly contributed to the scale of the devastation. These cases could set important legal precedents for disaster liability and corporate accountability in California and beyond.

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Catastrophic Wildfires Recovery – Get the Most from Your Insurance Coverage

February 9th, 2025|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Environmental Torts, Insurance, New Webinars|Tags: , , , , |

Take this CLE webinar and gain a better understanding of the complex insurance coverage and remediation issues arising from wildfire disasters, including property damage claims under commercial all-risk and homeowners insurance, valuation provisions like replacement cost and ACV, and time element coverages such as business income loss, civil authority coverage, and additional living expenses. We feature experienced insurance recovery attorneys Dennis Artese, Marshall Gilinsky, and Joshua Gold of Anderson Kill, P.C. Take it now or when you're ready. It's on demand!

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Property Insurance Coverage for Emerging Risk: Underground Climate Change

January 31st, 2024|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , |

Studies have shown that “underground climate change” is affecting ground soil conditions, causing structural strains on buildings and exacerbating cracks and defects in walls and foundations. The authors, Dennis Artese, Ethan Middlebrooks, and Thomas Dupont analyze permutations of policy language and state law that may affect coverage for damage caused by underground climate change, including how state law treats anti-concurrent causation clauses, whether “human-caused” exceptions to earth movement exclusions may apply to underground climate change, and whether “abrupt collapse” exceptions to exclusions for building collapse may apply when undetected structural damage triggered by underground climate change triggers collapse. As the authors note, "there are numerous arguments in favor of coverage under all-risk property insurance policies for losses related to underground climate change".

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Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Sends Important Reminder: Long-Standing, Fundamental Principles of Insurance Policy Construction and Law Are Applicable to Cyber Claims

June 16th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Judy Selby (judy.selby@kennedyslaw.com) is a Partner at Kennedys (New York) where she focuses her practice primarily on insurance coverage matters with a concentration in coverage for exposures arising out of emerging technology, digital, and compliance risks. Tracey M.Kline (tracey.kline@kennedyslaw.com) is an Associate at Kennedys (Philadelphia) where she focuses her practice primarily on insurance coverage litigation and cyber matters. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Sends Important Reminder: Long-Standing, Fundamental Principles of Insurance Policy Construction and Law Are Applicable to Cyber Claims Abstract: On December 27, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a business owner’s property insurance policy issued by Owners Insurance Co. to EMOI Services, LLC did not afford coverage for losses sustained in a ransomware attack because computer software is “entirely intangible” and “cannot experience ‘direct physical loss or physical damage.’” EMOI Servs., LLC. v. Owners Ins. Co., 2022-Ohio-4649 (Ohio 2022). In doing so, the court reversed an attention-getting split decision by the lower appellate court. This article takes an in-depth look at the case and discusses its significant implications. The Ohio Supreme Court’s decision was based on its commonsense [...]

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Autonomous Vehicles: The New Technology Driving the Litigation Conversation

February 24th, 2023|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News, Technology Law|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Cort T. Malone (cmalone@andersonkill.com) is a shareholder in the New York and Stamford offices of Anderson Kill and practices in the Insurance Recovery and the Corporate and Commercial Litigation Departments. An experienced litigator, he focuses on insurance coverage litigation and dispute resolution, with an emphasis on commercial general liability insurance, directors and officers insurance, employment practices liability insurance, advertising injury insurance, and property insurance issues. John M. Leonard (jleonard@andersonkill.com) is a shareholder in Anderson Kill’s New York, New York, office, where he handles a full spectrum of insurance coverage matters, such as business interruption losses, D&O and E&O, commercial general liability, environmental liability. Joshua A. Zelen (jzelen@andersonkill.com) is a law clerk pending admission in Anderson Kill’s New York office. He focuses his practice on insurance recovery. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Autonomous Vehicles: The New Technology Driving the Litigation Conversation "The AEV Act requires a policyholder’s insurance company to cover third-party damage caused by a self-driving automated vehicle. A policy may not exclude such damages, except for damages suffered as a direct result of software alterations made without the policyholder’s knowledge, or failure to install safety-critical software [...]

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Wildfire Claims and Coverage

June 14th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Scott P. DeVries (sdevries@huntonak.com) is a special counsel in the Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s Insurance Coverage group in the firm’s San Francisco office where he exclusively represents policyholder clients. An experienced trial and appellate lawyer who has served as lead counsel in landmark appeals in the field of insurance coverage in the California Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit, and the California Court of Appeal, as well as high-value jury trials, Scott routinely represents clients throughout the country seeking recovery from their insurers on a wide range of insurance issues arising under first-party property policies, comprehensive general liability policies, directors and officers policies, EPLI policies, crime policies, crypto and digital asset policies, and cyber policies. Yosef Itkin is an associate in Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s Insurance Coverage group in the firm’s Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on representing and advising corporate policyholders in complex insurance coverage matters. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Wildfire Claims and Coverage "The wildfires are causing enormous losses for innumerable businesses on the West Coast. Often, you should be able to work with your adjuster to reach a satisfactory resolution. But where needed, you [...]

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Despite Relative Inactivity on the Virtual Front in Ukraine, Russia’s Global Cyber-Attacks are Coming

March 29th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Editor Tom is HB’s Founder and Managing Director. His career in litigation content spans four decades during which he was editor, managing editor, and finally publisher at Mealey’s Litigation Reports. After Mealey’s was acquired by LexisNexis Tom became a vice president involved in creating new content and services at the legal research and services giant. He has always overseen or directly created articles, blogs, conferences, webinars, data collections, and now podcasts — all on litigation. Tom founded HB in 2008, and four years later he founded Custom Legal Content, a boutique content creation shop serving boutique and specialized legal practices and litigation services. In addition to his work at HB and CLC, Tom is Editor in Chief of the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, and host of the Emerging Litigation Podcast. For years he was a leader in an international specialized publishing association, frequently speaking and writing about publishing, and is now active in an open community of content and event producers called Renewd. Sometime during the last millennium Tom proudly graduated with a B.A. in Communications from Bethany College in West Virginia. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. Despite Relative Inactivity on the [...]

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The Shifting Gun Liability Landscape: Plaintiffs Say Companies are Marketing Illegally, Insurers End Up Paying

March 7th, 2022|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Insurance, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Author Charlie spent more than four decades with General Reinsurance, three-quarters of which as the company’s Emerging Issues Officer. One colleague described him as “one of the most prescient and gifted industry futurists I have met in my 36 year professional career within the insurance industry. Entertaining and insightful, his ability to digest and communicate complex issues, many before they are readily apparent, is both a gift and a talent.” Charlie is also a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation. The Shifting Gun Liability Landscape: Plaintiffs Say Companies are Marketing Illegally, Insurers End Up Paying By Charlie Kingdollar On Feb. 15, 2022, Remington Arms, manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR15-style rifle agreed to pay $73 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the families of nine of the victims of the Dec. 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The $73 million will be paid by four of Remington’s insurers (and likely their reinsurers).[i] Why is this a big deal? Insurers and reinsurers providing liability coverage for gun manufacturers did so believing that federal law protected gun manufacturers from liability arising from shootings under the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). It seems likely that policy terms and conditions as well [...]

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Vince Vitkowsky on Insurance Coverage for Civil Unrest

April 20th, 2021|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, ELP, Insurance, News|Tags: , , , , |

Vince Vitkowsky on Insurance Coverage for Civil Unrest Civil unrest. Peaceful protests. Massive marches. Riots. Looting.  Which of these things are not like the other? Recent social outrage over police shootings of Black people -- these events in particular -- have sent people to the streets by hundreds of thousands. In some cases these constitutionally protected activities are followed by property damage, injury and death. Observers continue to debate who is responsible for the violence.  Whatever the answer, as a very practical matter, someone has to pay for the property damage. Join me for my conversation with Vince Vitkowsky of Gfeller Laurie LLP.  Vince  possesses deep knowledge of insurance coverage matters, representing carriers in a variety of areas, e.g. cyber risk, data privacy, general liability, directors and officers liability, health, and more. He combines his experience as a veteran insurance and reinsurance lawyer with a strong background in terrorism and national security law. This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the Fastcase legal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, Docket Alarm and, most recently, Judicata. If you have comments or wish to participate in one our projects, or want to tell me how insightful and informative Vince is , please drop me a note at Editor@LitigationConferences.com. I hope you enjoy the [...]

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Charlie Kingdollar on Emerging Issues Facing the Property & Casualty Insurance Industry

March 17th, 2021|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, News|Tags: , , , , |

Emerging Issues Facing the Property & Casualty Insurance Industry: What Has, What Is, What Will Be Charlie Kingdollar was Emerging Issues Officer for GenRe where he worked for 40 years, much of which was spent monitoring hundreds of new risks at any given time. In this article, Charlie discusses risks that have long-since emerged but continue today, risks that are starting to reveal themselves, and risks just starting to appear on the horizon. Read or download his article published in the latest issue of the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation.

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