A federal court in Pennsylvania has held that Liberty Mutual must defend its insured, Hershey Creamery Company, in an intellectual property infringement lawsuit because the suit raises claims that potentially implicate coverage under the policies’ personal and advertising injury coverages. The court further found that the alleged wrongful conduct was not subject to the policies’ IP infringement exclusion.
Continue Reading IP Lawsuit Triggers Insurers’ Duty to Defend

Complex product supply chains increase the risk of errors, defects and contamination at all levels of operation and can lead to staggering expenses for food and product manufacturers facing the risks and realities of product recalls. Hunton insurance coverage attorneys comment on a recent Third Circuit decision that illustrates the importance of taking the right steps to avoid invalidating insurance coverage for product recalls.
Continue Reading Product Recalls: Keeping Your Insurance Coverage Intact

Providers of technology products and services are consistently innovating to grow their offerings to retailers. These new products and services present significant opportunity for retailers to more effectively reach customers, generate sales and grow revenue, but also can present significant cybersecurity risks.
Continue Reading Navigating Cybersecurity Insurance in Technology Transactions

In a June 1, 2016 decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reminded retailers and product manufacturers to look to their insurance coverages when defending against consumer class actions. The Second Circuit required CNA Financial Corporation to defend E. Mishan & Sons, Inc. – best known for its “As Seen on TV” products – in two class actions alleging a conspiracy to trap customers into recurring credit card charges and that Emson sold private consumer information that it obtained through its product sales.
Continue Reading “As Seen on TV” — Insurer Must Defend Well Known Television Marketer in Data Privacy Suit

Recently, the New York Court of Appeals held that each of several excess liability insurers can be wholly responsible for the entire extent of their policyholders’ asbestos liabilities. The Court further held that “vertical” exhaustion would apply; rejecting the insurers’ attempt to apply “horizontal” exhaustion before upper-layer policies must respond.
Continue Reading “All Sums” and “Vertical” Exhaustion Apply to Excess Coverage for Asbestos Liabilities

A panel of the Fourth Circuit confirmed that general liability insurance policies can afford coverage for cyber-related liabilities, and ruled that an insurer had to pay attorneys’ fees to defend the policyholder in class action litigation in Travelers Indemnity Company v. Portal Healthcare Solutions, No. 14-1944.
Continue Reading If a Data Breach Occurs and Nobody Accesses Customer Data, Does it Constitute “Publication”?