The Eleventh Circuit recently determined that a “misappropriation exclusion” did not wholly foreclose coverage in a malpractice lawsuit stemming from a law firm’s representation of defendants facing civil foreclosure in a RICO action. Medmarc Cas. Ins. Co. v. Fellows Labriola LLP, No. 25-10837, 2025 WL 2886733 (11th Cir. Oct. 10, 2025). In doing so, the…
Read More
Although the number of cyber security attacks continues to rise, courts are not unified on how insurance policies apply. This is evident by how two cases were decided differently despite the insureds suffering similar cyber security events. In Kane v. Syndicate 2623-623 Lloyd’s of London, 2025 WL 1733046 (N.M. Ct. App. June 16, 2025), a…
Read More
Last month, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed with prejudice a declaratory judgment action filed by a purported third-party beneficiary against an errors-and-omissions insurer based on application of a professional-services exclusion. See Speckin Forensics, LLC, v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., No. 9:25-cv-80383-AMC (S.D. Fla. Aug. 8, 2025). Speckin,…
Read More
Artificial Intelligence is an emerging technology that rapidly has infiltrated all aspects of everyday life, including business and commerce. AI allows users to quickly perform and complete tasks that ordinarily would take substantial time, energy, and human effort to achieve a finished result. AI products are readily available to users, both in free, open source…
Read More
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is constantly revolutionizing industries, and claims handling is no exception. These advancements come with growing pains: the use of AI in claims determinations has become the subject of bad-faith litigation. Although AI is relatively new, the bad faith arguments are not. Bad faith lawsuits concerning the use of technology in claims handling…
Read More
In 1955, the Alabama Supreme Court established a rule that loss-of-use damages in vehicle cases were recoverable only if the vehicle was repairable. Hunt v. Ward, 79 So. 2d 20, 25-26 (Ala. 1955) (the “Hunt rule”). This meant that an interested party could not recover “for both [the] total loss of an automobile and loss…
Read More
As claim adjusters know, a thorny issue in many liability claims is whether the insured is entitled to independent counsel. Jurisdictions take three general approaches to independent counsel. In some jurisdictions, such as Mississippi, whenever a carrier is defending under a reservation of rights, the insured is entitled to independent counsel. Moeller v. American Guar….
Read More
The cyber insurance market indisputably has experienced a “boom” in recent years, with some sources reporting more than 30% in annual growth in the market over the past decade. With this exponential growth has come a corresponding increase in cyber insurance claims, which must be fielded by adjusters in real time, often with a lack…
Read More
Insurers who issue liability policies that include self-insured retentions (SIRs) have limited obligations to their insureds unless and until the damages and claim expenses exceed the SIR amount. So, what happens if the insured does nothing to defend themselves, resulting in the entry of a default judgment in an amount exceeding the SIR? Under Georgia…
Read More
In Aloha Petroleum, Ltd. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, 155 Haw. 108, 557 P.3d 837 (2024), Aloha Petroleum, Ltd. sought a defense from its liability insurers for separate lawsuits brought by Hawaiian municipalities. The municipalities alleged that, as of the 1960s, the fossil fuel industry knew “its products would cause catastrophic climate…
Read More
Our locations in Birmingham and Pensacola are conveniently located for clients in the Southeast.
Get In Touch