Written by: Duane Cochenour, Esq. and Bill Daniel, Esq. The Georgia Court of Appeals recently held that an insurer’s request for clarification as to which insureds are released in a pre-suit, policy-limit demand amounted to a counteroffer and rejection of the demand. In Yim v. Carr, 349 Ga. App. 892 (2019)[1], plaintiff Patricia Carr was involved in an automobile collision with defendant Jenny Yim. As a result of the

Written by: R. Wells Littlefield, Esq. In Principle Solutions Group, LLC v. Ironshore Indemnity, Inc., 17-11703, 2019 WL 6691509, (11th Cir. Dec. 9, 2019), a split 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed summary judgment in favor of Principle Solutions, providing coverage for the Atlanta-based IT staffing firm's $1.7 million loss in a fraudulent instruction transfer scam, despite potential intervening events and questions as to foreseeability and causation. This case

Written by: Beth Kanik, Esq. Merriam Webster  defines a “binder” as a person or a machine that holds something together. In 2019, the Washington Supreme Court in an en banc opinion expanded that definition to apply to a certificate of insurance (“COI”) In so doing,  the certificate holder was qualified as an additional insured when language in the actual policy never said as such and language in the actual

Written by: C. Michael Johnson, Esq. and Patrick Fitzgerald, Esq. In ACCC Ins. Co. of Ga. v. Walker, 2019 WL 4198535 (Ga. Ct. App. Sept. 5, 2019), ACCC Insurance Company of Georgia ("ACCC") took the rather extra-ordinary step of filing its declaratory judgment action ("DJ") to determine coverage for an automobile collision on the same day that assigned defense counsel filed the answer on behalf of the insured. When

Written by: Paul Ivey, Esq. and Tyler Pritchard, Esq. Hospitals around the country employ dozens of physicians and nurses. Often, as a part of their employment, hospitals agree to pay the premiums on these health care professionals’ liability insurance policies. This much is no secret. But how does the hospital address coverage when, for a multitude of possible reasons, a claimant/patient voluntarily dismisses a negligent health care professional? Does

By: Elizabeth Wieters, Esq. This past week, the South Carolina Supreme Court answered a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concerning an insurer’s waiver of attorney-client privilege in a bad faith action in In re: Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., Op. No. 27892 (S.C. Sup. Ct. filed June 12, 2019) (Shearouse Adv. Sh. No. 24 at 9). The Court ultimately adopted the approach provided

Written by: Elizabeth Fulton, Esq. In February 2019, the Supreme Court of Texas considered whether the Insurer's corporate representative was required to turn over drafts of affidavits and e-mails with outside counsel to the opposing party when he was designated as a testifying expert by the insurance company.  Reversing the lower court, the Texas Supreme Court weighed its state discovery rules governing testifying experts against the attorney-client privilege, and

Written by: Bryan Forsyth, Esq. In First Acceptance Ins. Co. of Georgia, Inc. v. Hughes, No. S18G0517, 2019 WL 1103831 (Ga. Mar. 11, 2019), the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the Court of Appeals, 343 Ga. App. 693, 808 S.E.2d 103, and disapproved of Thomas v. Atlanta Cas. Co., 253 Ga. App. 199, 558 S.E.2d 432 (2001) and Alexander Underwriters General Agency v. Lovett, 182 Ga. App. 769, 357

Written by: James H. Fisher II, Esq. In Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Cribb, 2019 WL 451555 (N.D. Ga.), Auto Owners, as insurer brought a declaratory judgment action asserting failure of its insured to comply with a coverage condition precedent of notice of a claim. Its insured failed to provide notice until after being served with a lawsuit nearly 2 years following the occurrence of a serious construction related accidental

Written by: C. Michael Johnson, Esq. The 10th Circuit, just added its authority to a judicial trend of very narrowly construing key business risk exclusions in the CGL Policy: Exclusions j (5) & (6). MTI, Inc., v. Employers Ins. Co, Of Wausau, 2019 WL 321423 (10th Cir. 1/25/19). As part of a renovation effort, MTI employees removed all 64 corroded anchor bolts that were used to stabilize a wooden structure