I remember sitting in a continuing legal education class once, where the speaker was an experienced employment defense lawyer. He said that, normally, he liked to open his talks with a funny story or a joke, but he couldn’t do that during this particular talk, because there was absolutely nothing funny about sexual harassment; in
Named Insured
Additional Insured Coverage
Years ago, there was a Bell Labs facility behind my house, and on Sunday afternoons, the engineers (mostly Indian and Pakistani) would get together and play cricket on the large lawn. I watched the matches quite a bit, but I never could get a grip on the rules. Then a British friend told me that…
Direct Actions against a Defendant’s Insurance Company
By Gene Killian on
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…
Additional Insureds and Certificates of Insurance
By Gene Killian on
A few months back, I got a call from the general counsel of a construction company. His employer was the general contractor in a construction defect case, and he needed some advice with respect to the applicable “additional insured” coverage. “Now, you do know about this stuff, right?” he asked. “I don’t want to have…
Additional Insured Coverage and the Employer’s Liability Exclusion
By Gene Killian on
My late Uncle Carmen was an accountant who worked for the IRS. One tax season, I was grousing about how complicated the 1040 form could be. Uncle Carmen didn’t suffer fools gladly, and, with the veins bulging from his neck, insisted that NOTHING ON EARTH COULD BE SIMPLER. My response was to engage in a…
Fidelity insurance and Ponzi schemes
By Gene Killian on
Spring is a time of rebirth and hope, especially for baseball fans. No matter how badly your team played last year, when March rolls around, you’re tied for first! That is, unless (like me) you’re a fan of the woeful New York Mets. After just a few weeks of spring training, their third baseman already…
Reformation of Insurance Policies Due To “Mutual Mistake”
By Gene Killian on
Back in the 1980s, when we were all fighting over the meaning of the “sudden and accidental” pollution exclusion, it became fashionable for coverage lawyers to quote “Alice in Wonderland.” If memory serves, there was even a battle of law review articles (sponsored by the insurance industry on one side and corporate policyholders on the…