An Ohio federal court has held that attorneys’ fees awarded under a fee-shifting provision contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) do not constitute covered “damages” under an insurance policy.  Wesco Ins. Co. v. Roderick Linton Belfance LLP, 2018 WL 4510093 (N.D. Ohio Sept. 19, 2018).…

The Supreme Court of Kansas has held that a four-month delay in sending a reservation of rights letter created an issue of fact as to whether the insurer timely reserved its rights.  Becker v. The Bar Plan Mut. Ins. Co., 2018 WL 5304671 (Kan. Oct. 26, 2018).…

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has held that a bodily injury exclusion did not preclude coverage for a wrongful death suit, reasoning that the death did not cause the alleged wrongful conduct and therefore did not “arise out of” it.  Clarendon Nat’l Ins. Co. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 312 F. Supp. 3d 639 (N.D. Ohio 2018).  The court also held that the assault at issue was not “discovered”…

Applying New York law, the Delaware Supreme Court has held that settlement payments that were not conclusively linked to disgorgement damages were insurable under New York public policy.  In re TIAA-CREF Ins. Appeals, 2018 WL 3620873 (Del. July 30, 2018).…

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit seeking to rescind a doctor’s professional liability policy on the grounds that the insured made material misrepresentations in applying for the policy.  Admiral Ins. Co. v. Fisher, 2018 WL 2688182 (W. Va. June 6, 2018).  In reversing the trial court, the Supreme Court of Appeals noted that the insured omitted information concerning several patient overdose deaths in response to questions on the application…

An Illinois intermediate appellate court has held that an intentional acts exclusion precluded a duty to defend a lawsuit alleging that an insured engaged in willful misconduct.  Ill. State Bar Ass’n Mut. Ins. Co. v. Leighton Legal Grp., Inc., 2018 WL 2688182 (Ill. App. Ct. May 22, 2018).…

An Alaska federal court has held that a state court’s finding in the underlying litigation that an insured should have known of a potential claim by a date before inception of a policy collaterally estopped the insured from relitigating that issue in a coverage dispute concerning a prior knowledge provision.  ALPS Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Merdes & Merdes, P.C., 2018 WL 1278422 (D. Alaska Mar. 12, 2018).…