HNRK Coverage Corner

In orders issued last week, a panel of the Ninth Circuit and a federal district judge in Hawaii certified questions to the Supreme Courts of Alaska and Hawaii regarding the scope of a liability policy’s “absolute” or “total” pollution exclusion.  The state high courts will address whether carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide constitute “pollutants” under such an exclusion. 

Ninth Circuit Order – Is Carbon Monoxide a Pollutant Under a Homeowners Policy?

The Ninth Circuit’s order in Estate of Wheeler v. Garrison Property & Casualty Ins. Co., No. 22-35484, issued on ...

On April 9, 2020, the Second Circuit issued a decision in Brooklyn Center of Psychotherapy, Inc. v. Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co., Docket No. 19-2266-cv, certifying the following question to the New York Court of Appeals:  Can a discrimination claim based on a “failure to accommodate” theory trigger coverage under a general commercial liability policy?

The coverage dispute in this case arose from a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by a deaf woman, who alleged that the Brooklyn Center for Psychotherapy discriminated against her, in violation of state and federal ...

On November 20, 2019, Judge Briccetti of the SDNY issued a decision in Metropolitan Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Comley, Case No. 18-cv-9259 (VB), holding that a liability insurer properly denied defense coverage, under an exclusion for “intentional and criminal acts”, for a lawsuit alleging “negligent supervision” of the insureds’ minor son, who committed a sexual assault. The policy at issue—a homeowners’ policy—covered both the parents and their “relatives”, who are “resident[s] of the same household.” The policy’s “intentional and criminal ...

On December 21, 2018, Justice Sherwood of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v Don Buchwald Assoc., Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 33325(U), holding that an intentional tort could be a covered occurrence, triggering a CGL insurer’s duty to defend.

This insurance coverage case arose from a salacious lawsuit by professional wrestler Terry Gene Bollea (better known by his stage name, Hulk Hogan).  Bollea sued a talent agency (DBA) and its employee (Burton) in Florida state court for their alleged role in the dissemination of a sex tape through the ...

On July 2, 2018, Justice Platkin of the Albany County Commercial Division issued a decision in Dan Tait, Inc. v. Farm Family Cas. Ins. Co., 2018 NY Slip Op 28205, holding that a series of thefts by an employee constituted a single “occurrence,” subject to a single $15,000 coverage limit, under the “Employee Dishonesty” section of a business insurance policy.

The employee stole a total of $500,000 from the insured, employing several different methods.  The insured argued that each of the employee’s schemes should be treated as a separate occurrence based on the common law ...