Since the economy tanked, we’ve seen a number of cases in our office (particularly in the area of construction defects) where a defendant (such as a subcontractor) has become insolvent, and we’ve been called upon to pursue a direct action against that defendant’s insurance company.  Surprisingly, insurance companies don’t really care for this. So, the

When I started in this business (yikes, a long time ago), we used to argue with insurance companies a lot about scintillating issues like whether environmental cleanup costs constituted “damages” under CGL policies, and whether “sudden” meant “abrupt” for purposes of the pollution exclusion. In fact, many coverage lawyers have sent their kids to college

Asbestos defendants who file for reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and seek to establish a personal injury trust for the payment of claims may transfer their liability insurance recovery rights to the trust even if the insurance policies include provisions barring the transfer of such rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third

Got an e-mail from my friend John Denton at Marsh Risk Consulting about The English & American Underwriting Agency Pools (“EAU”) and their Scheme of Arrangement closure. Any historic London excess placements probably would have included one or more of the EAU companies as carriers. There are actions necessary to safeguard any outstanding claims, whether known or