There are well-known ways to waive the protection of the attorney-client privilege: for example, the intentional disclosure of an initially confidential communication to someone outside of the privileged relationship waives the privilege; accusing your lawyer of malpractice also waives the privilege. But there are also some less well-known ways to waive the attorney-client privilege that ..read more

By: Sheila Raftery Wiggins The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that an insurer is not obligated to indemnify an insured for natural resources damages that it may pay in the underlying lawsuit brought by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) because of the Policy’s Prior or Pending Litigation Exclusion.  This exclusion applies because ..read more

By Max H. Stern and Holden Benon Late last week, the California Court of Appeal issued another COVID-19 business interruption decision reminding us that creative arguments do not win the day for policyholders in California.  The true facts are decisive. In Best Rest Motel, Inc. v. Sequoia Ins. Co., No. D079927, 2023 WL 2198660 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb ..read more

By: Daniel B. Heidtke Alleging an insurer was “dilatory, deficient, and pre-textual” in its handling of a claim is not enough to state a claim for bad faith, explained the Northern District of Texas, as it entered summary judgment against a policyholder’s breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing claim earlier this ..read more

By: Daniel B. Heidtke Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit certified the following questions to the Montana Supreme Court: “Whether an anti-concurrent cause (‘ACC’) clause in an insurance policy applies to defeat insurance coverage despite Montana’s recognition of the efficient proximate cause (‘EPC’) doctrine” and, if so, whether ..read more

Duane Morris is pleased to announce that Bill Baron has been admitted to practice law in the State of Washington. The firm has a team of coverage lawyers representing clients in insurance matters in Washington State. The Team William J. Baron Daniel B. Heidtke Jessica E. La Londe Lauren M. Case Hari Kumar About Duane ..read more

By: William J. Baron The Ninth Circuit has held that the California rule permitting insurers to intervene to defend suspended corporate insureds also applies under federal procedural rules.  (See California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control v. Jim Dobbas, Inc. (9th Cir. 2022) 54 F.4th 1078, 1082.) In Jim Dobbas, the Department of Toxic Substances Control ..read more

By: Dominica Anderson and Daniel B. Heidtke Certain time-limited settlement demands delivered on or after January 1, 2023 will be subject to additional restrictions as California Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) Sections 999-999.5 take effect in the New Year.  In the past, policyholder counsel have issued policy-limit demand letters, with little detail, and little time ..read more

By: Holden Benon On June 15, 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its initial summary reporting on autonomous vehicle crashes collected through its Standing General Order. According to the NHTSA, in the last year, there were 130 reported crashes involving vehicles with levels 3-5 automated-driving systems. Although NHTSA’s recent summary does not ..read more

By: Gina Foran, Bill Baron, and Phil Matthews Duane Morris lawyers helped secure a victory at the California Court of Appeal when the court held Tuesday that ConAgra’s insurers have no duty to indemnify ConAgra against a public nuisance action in which ConAgra was ordered to contribute to an abatement fund due to its predecessor’s ..read more