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A federal court recently denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss an insured’s claim for declaratory relief. The insurer argued that the policyholder’s declaratory judgment claim was redundant of its breach of contract claim. The Court ruled that “redundancy is not grounds for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6).”

In The United Church of Marco Island, Inc. v. Lexington Insurance Company , the policyholder, The United Church of Marco Island, Inc., fell victim to a $1.2 million fraud after a series of emails impersonating church officials and a Registered Financial Advisor who had a relationship with the Church resulted in the Church sending funds to an “illicit bank account.” The Church was able to recover $600,000 and sought coverage under its Commercial Crime Policy issued by Lexington Insurance Company for the remaining $600,000.
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Continue Reading Insurer Can’t Dismiss Church’s Claim for Declaratory Relief

A New York appellate court recently held that renewable bio-diesel fuel manufacturer BioEnergy Development Group LLC may pursue tens of millions of dollars in damages from its insurers under two all-risk insurance policies, including amounts in excess of the policy limits, where the insurers refused to pay claims in a timely manner.
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Continue Reading New York Appellate Court Holds Insurers May Suffer Consequences of Delayed Payment of Energy Company Property and Business Interruption Claims

Does the term “wrongful act” always require that the conduct at issue be “wrongful”? In at least one D&O insurance policy, the answer may not be as clear as it seems. A federal district court in Texas recently denied an insurer’s motion to dismiss a company’s coverage claim for nearly $5 million in costs the company incurred defending a statutory appraisal lawsuit filed by disgruntled shareholders, citing the D&O policy’s “terribly” written definition of “wrongful act,” which may have been written so broadly that it provides coverage for “acts” that are not actually “wrongful.”…
Continue Reading Imprecise Policy Wording Prevents Dismissal of D&O Coverage Suit For Statutory Appraisal Claims