Millions of people across the country are waiting to get the COVID-19 vaccine. For businesses, immunity is sought not against the virus but against liability, and, in some cases, businesses have been successful in invoking COVID-19 as a means to do so. Recently, the Southern District of New York held that the pandemic immunized a defendant, Phillips Auctioneers LLC, from liability under its contract with the plaintiff, JN Contemporary. Under the terms of the contract, Phillips agreed to present a painting at an auction scheduled for May 2020 and guaranteed JN that it would receive a minimum of $5 million from the sale. Phillips’ contractual obligations, however, were subject to the contract’s force majeure provision which read as follows:
Insurers Did Not Act As Advertised in “Advertising Injury” Suit
Does coverage for liability arising out of “advertising injury” include copyright infringement suits where the insured was not alleged to have engaged in advertisement? In Superior Integrated Solutions, Inc. v. Mercer Insurance Company of New Jersey, Inc., the New Jersey Appeals Court said “yes,” affirming the trial court’s granting summary judgment for an insured.
For The First Circuit, Transaction Costs in Structured Settlements are Not Fraud
Liability insurers charge premiums in exchange for an agreement to cover certain claims against their policyholders. When settling a tort claim against a policyholder, the insurance company can pay a lump-sum of cash or, in some cases, will enter into a “structured settlement” with the claimant. Here, the insurance company purchases an annuity (or a stream of payments over a set period of time) from, for example, a life insurance company, under which the beneficiary/claimant will receive these payments to settle the claim. However, the process of buying an annuity generates certain transaction costs in the form of a broker’s commission payable by the liability insurer to the life insurance agent. If the liability insurer were to purchase a stream of payments for the amount owed to the claimant but the claimant received less than the insurer paid, what should we call the missing funds: fraud or the price of doing business?
Understanding Your Employment Practices Liability Insurance Coverage
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies typically provide coverage for both the company and its employees for certain defined “wrongful employment acts,” such as discrimination, illegal harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. Navigating an EPLI policy can be tricky. Proskauer’s Anthony Oncidi and Bradley Lorden analyze the pros and cons to
Five Ways to Prepare for Business Interruption Insurance Claims in a Natural Disaster
The extraordinary images and reports of the devastation from Hurricane Matthew have filled the news outlets. While the focus remains on the human toll and concern for the well-being of friends, colleagues and business partners who may be personally affected by this disaster, its impact will extend far beyond those