Litigation/Liability Trends
What Reinsurance Execs Say About Social Inflation
While some observers reported a letup in social inflation during COVID-19 lockdown periods, reinsurance executives speaking at a recent conference said they fear U.S. jury verdicts and settlements ...
Managing Social Inflation: What Should Be in the Defense Playbook
Plaintiffs attorneys have honed skills for identifying cases destined to result in nuclear verdicts, a former defense attorney working for a reinsurance company said recently, describing their ...
Insurers Need Playbook to Slow Social Inflation; COVID Didn’t Do It
If liability insurers and defendants want to turn the tide of social inflation, they need to come together as teammates with a solid game plan, a reinsurance claims executive said recently. Agreeing ...
Is COVID Physical Damage? Plaintiffs Relying on Bacteria, Ammonia and Cat Urine Rulings
In 1963, congregants noticed a strange odor in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church in Littleton, Colo. Some suspected a gas leak or maybe spilled stationary ink. Others thought the smell ...
Michigan Judge Rejects Restaurants’ COVID-19 Business Interruption Claim
A trial court judge in Lansing, Mich., handed a victory to insurers in what may be the nation's first final ruling on the question of whether a property insurer is liable for financial damages caused ...
Federal Biz Interruption Bill Backed by Plaintiffs Group Introduced
Last week, a U.S. lawmaker introduced a bill that would allow insurers to voluntarily pay certain COVID-related business interruption claims and get reimbursed by the federal government, but ...
Climate Battles Are Moving to the Courtroom, Fueled by Creative Arguments
Climate change may be having its day in court. With the slow pace of international climate negotiations, lawyers from Switzerland to San Francisco are increasingly filing lawsuits demanding action. ...
Tesla Suit Alleges Model 3’s Airbags Malfunctioned in Highway Crash
Tesla Inc. was sued over a Maryland highway crash last year in which a Model 3's airbags failed to deploy, leaving a college professor with brain damage. Elon Musk, the company's co-founder, has ...