New York’s Highest Court Holds That Restaurants’ Business Losses from Coronavirus Not Covered

The insured, Consolidated Restaurant Operations, a company that owns and operates dozens of restaurants, obtained a commercial property policy from Westport Insurance Company. Subject to certain exclusions, the policy covered “all risks of direct physical loss or damage to insured property” and

In this month’s insurance update, we address:

• Whether opioid suits allege an occurrence
• Whether the recurring presence of wild turkeys is “infestation”
• Whether improper copying of an industry publication was in the performance of professional services
• Whether wildfire dust is a “pollutant”
• Whether an aircraft exclusion applies to a partially disassembled plane
• And whether

On February 15, 2024, the New York Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the Appellate Division, First Department decision affirming dismissal of restaurant operator Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc.’s (CRO) complaint against Westport Insurance Corp. seeking COVID-19 business interruption coverage.

The Court’s affirmance continues New York’s well-settled approach to contract interpretation, which demands that all contracts –

Second Circuit Holds That Malpractice Insurer Has No Duty to Defend or to Indemnify Lawyer Because Of Business Enterprise Exclusion

 Associated Industries Insurance Company sued its insureds, a lawyer, and his former law firm, seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend or to indemnify an underlying lawsuit brought by their former client.

Please click the link below to view the New York Insurance Coverage Law Update – Compilation 2023.

New York

In our January insurance update, we include three state cases addressing some less common situations.

It’s not often that a pollution exclusion is interpreted in the context of an auto policy.  But the South Dakota Supreme Court considered whether the exclusion barred a claim arising from a contaminated wheat delivery.

Village officials made it very

On January 10, the New York Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on a COVID-19 coverage appeal by a restaurant operator, Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO), which posed issues of first impression. Courts nationwide are looking to see how New York’s highest court will decide the case.

The case before the Court of Appeals stems

Here is what we cover in this issue of Title Insurance Update Winter 2024:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, affirming a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, has ruled that Standard Exclusion 3(a) of a title insurance policy precluded coverage of fees and costs

Second Circuit Finds That Criminal Activities Exclusion Defeats Coverage For Disability Benefits

Jason Brand made a claim for disability benefits under his disability policy with Principal Life Insurance Company on the basis that he was totally disabled by extreme anxiety that began in July 2014 after a warrant was served on him by the

Our December 2023 Insurance Update features a few firsts from state high courts. For the first time:

• The Supreme Court of Hawaii addresses reimbursement of defense costs.
• The Supreme Court of Illinois addresses coverage for construction defects.
• The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia addresses trigger.

At the federal level:

• The