During recent years, insureds have faced a wide range of claims with potential liability exceeding the limits of their primary insurance policies. In such a setting, excess insurers typically argue that their duties are not triggered unless and until the primary policy has paid its limits. Such arguments should not be readily accepted. Excess insurers owe duties even before primary policies have exhausted. And, when a primary insurer settles with its insured, excess insurers may be obligated to pay under their policies even if the settlement was for less than the primary policy's limits.

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The situation is not uncommon: A buyer purchases a residence or piece of land, discovers material defects, and files suit against the seller based on fraud and negligent misrepresentation, seeking the cost of repairing the defective condition or rescission of the purchase agreement. Judging by the growing body of case law, the seller then tenders the suit to its liability insurer, typically under a homeowners or general liability policy.

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At an estimated $15.5 billion ' an increase of 28.1% from 2003's first quarter ' this year's estimated first-quarter e-commerce accounted for 1.9% of all first-quarter retailing, which the U.S. Census Bureau last month guessed totaled $834.8 billion, a nearly 9% rise from the same quarter last year.

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Recent developments in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.

While the Internet continues to replace traditional forms of commerce communication and to help expand e-commerce, the use of contracts to memorialize business agreements remains constant. <br>To move toward full implementation of Internet commerce communications, businesses are struggling to find an appropriate replacement for traditional authentication procedures. <br>In short, businesses seek lawful electronic signatures to replace traditional signatures. This search has resulted in six viable e-signature options.

No business likes to be undercut by a competitor ' but the pain of lost profits, not to mention the sting of embarrassment, would be worse if the "competitor" were your own business. <br>Strange? <br>Yes, but the scenario can occur when a firm establishes a Web site, but doesn't maintain it.

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Recent court rulings in e-commerce.

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Unfortunately, Americans these days know that terrorists can strike us at home, and anxiety about possible attacks ' from cyber assaults to the not-so-good old-fashioned kind ' is running high. <br>Of course, most Americans' vigilance against an attack is directed overseas, but should at least some of their attention, and that of anyone in e-commerce, focus on Redmond, Washington, the headquarters of Microsoft and its helmsman, Bill Gates?