Insurers regularly add new provisions to renewal policies. Many states require insurers to give the insured advance notice of a new exclusion or limitation on coverage added to a renewal policy. Absent adequate notice, the new exclusion will be disregarded. The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently addressed what constitutes sufficient notice… READ MORE
A recent opinion addresses a frequently arising question: can Massachusetts law (i.e., c. 93A/176D) apply to a bad faith claim when the interpretation of the contract underlying the bad faith claim is governed by another state’s law? In Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Anderson, decided on a motion for… READ MORE
Will There Be Insurance Coverage for Tuition Refund And Other COVID-19 Related Claims?… READ MORE
image credit: moolanomy Contractor Not Covered Under Subcontractor’s Policy For Claim By Subcontractor’s Employee. The rules for interpreting a contract, including an insurance policy, require a court to give meaning and effect to every word whenever practicable. That principle is illustrated by a recent case,… READ MORE
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay. Wading into a dispute about the Clean Water Act’s applicability to groundwater discharges, the Supreme Court handed environmentalists a somewhat surprising victory in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. However, the lower courts, EPA, and the regulated community will have many… READ MORE
As government agencies at every level continue to implement programs to combat the spread of the Coronavirus, many environmental practitioners are struggling to make sense of what this means for their environmental permitting timelines. Below, we have compiled an overview of the main federal, state, and local… READ MORE
A bill (Senate No. 2888) currently pending in the Massachusetts Legislature could provide some much needed relief for businesses such that have incurred losses or interruptions due to COVID-19. The bill would allow businesses to recover under their property damage insurance policies for any loss of business or business… READ MORE
Image by Baudolino from Pixabay On February 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would begin a regulatory determination process aimed at deciding “whether or not to begin the process to propose and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation” for… READ MORE
Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay Insurer Is Still Obligated To Conduct Reasonable Investigation And Make Good Faith Effort To Settle When Liability Is Reasonably Clear. Many professional liability policies provide that the insurer will not settle without the policyholder’s consent. These consent-to-settle clauses give professionals… READ MORE
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay A recent Massachusetts federal court decision (Stearns, J.) addresses two vexing coverage questions involving Massachusetts coverage law: Does a tort plaintiff have standing to argue in favor of coverage before there is a judgment in the… READ MORE