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Managing the Co-Insurer Relationship: Preserving Contribution Claims
Typically, when an insurer accepts an insured's tender of defense, the response letter to the insured includes a request for information regarding the insured's co-insurers, and in the context of a progressive bodily injury or property damage claim, successive insurers. The insured is obligated to provide this information pursuant to the policy's cooperation clause. The purpose for requesting this information is to determine what other insurers may potentially be responsible for sharing in the defense and indemnity of the claim.
What happens, however, if the responding insurer already has information regarding the identity or possible identity of the co-insurers, but the insured fails or refuses to place them on notice of the claim? An insured already receiving a full defense may have little incentive to chase down other insurers. The issue is important because late notice or no notice of the claim to the other insurers has the potential to vitiate the responding insurer's contribution claim against other responsible, but non-responding insurers. Based on the limited case law addressing this issue, notice by one insurer to another insurer is equivalent to notice from the insured. See Crum & Forster Org. v. Morgan, 596 N.Y.S. 2nd 472 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993); State of New York v. Blank, 27 F.3d 783 (2nd Cir. 1994); Truck Insurance Exchange v. Unigard Ins. Co., 94 Cal. Rptr. 2nd 516 (Cal. Ct. App. 2000); but see Casualty Indemnity Exchange Ins. Co. v. Liberty National Ins. Co., 902 F.Supp. 1235 (D. Mont. 1995) (holding that only notice from insured triggers insurer's duty to defend or provide contribution). Thus, the apparent solution to the situation where the insured fails to notify all co-insurers of a claim is for the responding insurer to promptly place all co-insurers on notice of the claim and advise them that it plans to seek contribution. The insured should be copied on those notice letters.
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.
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.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With Lawyers
There's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.
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?