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The Effect of Settlements upon Settlements
Insurance coverage disputes regarding long-tail claims, such as toxic tort or environmental damage claims, often lead to protracted and expensive litigation. Dollars spent on that litigation often would be better spent in compensating the underlying case plaintiffs, such as victims of toxic torts, or in cleaning the environment. Further, such litigation is a substantial drain on already overburdened judicial resources. In resolving insurance coverage disputes, therefore, an important consideration should be whether a particular approach will encourage or discourage settlement of future disputes, while being fair to the litigants. An emerging issue that can have a significant impact on whether future coverage disputes will be settled or litigated to judgment is whether a non-settling insurer will receive a credit based upon settlements an insured has reached with other insurers in regard to the same occurrence and, if so, how that credit will be calculated. At least three approaches have begun to emerge. The approach chosen will have a substantial impact on whether litigants are treated fairly and whether settlement of future disputes will be encouraged or discouraged.
GenCorp Inc. v. AIU Insurance Co.
The most problematic approach is that adopted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in GenCorp Inc. v. AIU Insurance Co., 297 F. Supp. 2d 995 (N.D. Ohio 2003), aff'd, 138 Fed. Appx. 732. The insured in that case, GenCorp, had actual or potential liability totaling approximately $34 million for environmental cleanup costs at six sites. It brought an insurance coverage action against insurers that had sold it primary, umbrella, and excess policies with coverage periods during the time the environmental damage existed. It reached settlements with all the insurers that had provided it primary and umbrella coverage during the relevant period. Its excess insurers then moved for summary judgment, arguing that the expenses incurred or to be incurred by GenCorp at the six sites would not be sufficient to reach the attachment points of their policies. The excess insurers argued that they should have been granted a credit for the full limits of the policies issued by the settling primary and umbrella insurers. Those limits totaled $64 million.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.