If an insurance company wrongfully denies a third-party liability claim, then, under the New Jersey Court Rules (R. 4:42-9(a)(6), to be exact), if the policyholder has to sue to enforce coverage for the claim, the policyholder is entitled to recover its attorneys’ fees. Due to a weird quirk in the Court Rules, however, a
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Insurance claims and Superstorm Sandy
By Gene Killian on
I recently got interviewed by Ed Beeson of the Newark Star-Ledger as part of his article about the looming Superstorm Sandy insurance coverage litigation. The insurance industry has definitely circled the wagons, and the first suits are now being filed. There will be a lot of battles over causation (e.g., wind versus flood), as well…
Insurance coverage for cyberliability
By Gene Killian on
At the end of this month (January 26, to be exact), assuming that the Mayans remain incorrect, I’ll be doing a presentation to the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education on the topic of insurance coverage for cyberthreats. Of course, I probably should be disqualified from making any comments whatsoever about trends in computer-related…
Flood insurance and basements
By Gene Killian on
A group of owners of hurricane-damaged homes have brought a putative class action in federal court in Newark, arguing that their flood insurance carriers are short-changing them by calling their first floors “basements”. The case is Donnelly v. New Jersey Re-Insurance Co., Docket No. 12-cv-7629, and was filed by Union City solo Jeffrey Bronster.…
Insurance brokers and malpractice
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Brokers and agents, Professional Liability
New York’s highest court issued an interesting decision last week on the professional duties of insurance brokers. This is a topic of renewed interest following Sandy, as I’m sure that more than a few policyholders will claim that their brokers provided them with insufficient coverage to weather the storm (pun intended). I know, for example…
Business interruption insurance and Hurricane Sandy
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Business Interruption, Property insurance
When Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey last week, one of my out-of-state lawyer friends, employing the sort of dark humor that perhaps only other lawyers can appreciate, congratulated me on my “happy positioning in the world’s greatest business interruption insurance goldmine.” I told him that, unfortunately, this time I might be a plaintiff instead of…
Bad Faith and the Duty to Defend
By Gene Killian on
I’m reading a wonderful book right now called “Young Men and Fire,” by Norman Maclean. The book is about a horrific forest fire that took place in Montana in 1949. Amazing how small sparks can result in a conflagration beyond all belief. Those of us involved in the litigation game are familiar with that problem. …
Are Punitive Damages Insurable?
By Gene Killian on
Posted in Professional Liability, Violation of law
The answer is maybe, under some circumstances. Unfortunately for the major accounting firm BDO Seidman, however, such circumstances didn’t exist in a recent New York coverage decision. You can read the full opinion by clicking here.
BDO’s coverage dispute stemmed from a $92 million Florida jury verdict against BDO (ouch), which included $55 million…
Crime Policies and Computer Fraud Coverage
By Gene Killian on
Can a first-party insurance policy ever provide coverage for third-party loss? Well…that depends on what the policy actually says, which goes back to the first rule of all coverage work: Read The Policy. (Corollary rule: Assumptions Are The Mother of All Foulups.)
Here are the facts from a very recent case decided by the U.S.
Actual cash value and replacement cost
By Gene Killian on
Large first-party property damage cases often come down to a battle of accountants. In other words, unlike Olympic beach volleyball, they’re usually not particularly thrilling to watch. (Not that I have anything against accountants.) But the results of the battle can have a major impact on the policyholder’s balance sheet. How is the policyholder’s claim…