SDV Insights

Superfund Informational Request Triggers Duty to Defend

Policyholders may remember when it was groundbreaking for courts to characterize the EPA's Potentially Responsible Party letters as a "suit," triggering the duty to defend under a Commercial General Liability policy.

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Eighth Circuit Upholds Award for Bad Faith Failure to Settle

What happens when an insurance company refuses to listen to its own experts and counsel? An aggressive lawsuit and an expensive bad faith award.

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Media Update: Cyber Risk Coverage

SDV’s own Gregory Podolak is well known in the cyber risk world. He’s been quoted recently in two art ...

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Georgia's Supreme Court Extends CGL Pollution Exclusion to Lead Paint Chips

The "pollution exclusion" contained in an insured's policy was at issue in a recent case in Georgia (Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. v. Smith et al., 2016 Ga. LEXIS 245).

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New York Court Provides Relief to Policyholder in Multiple Decade Pollution Case

Did you know that insurance coverage issues can arise from events that took place over 100 years ago?

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SDV Opposes Rules Change that Would Negatively Affect Policyholders

The ancient document exception to the Federal Rules of Evidence hearsay rule is an important tool for policyholders to put the content of a lost policy into evidence. Long tail claims in occurrence based policies (such as asbestos claims) can be brought many years after the policy was procured. If the policy is subsequently lost, the ancient documents rule is often the only way that a policyholder can establish the content of their policy and receive coverage.

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Fourth Circuit Opens a Portal to Coverage for Data Breach under CGL Policy

On April 11, 2016, the Fourth Circuit held that a records storage company was entitled to a defense under its CGL policy for a class action lawsuit claiming that the company failed to safeguard confidential medical records.

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SDV Talks Cyber Cases with LAW360

The website LAW360.com has once again reached out to SDV’s Gregory D. Podolak to get his input on a number ...

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Who Pays First? Manuscript Priority Language Enforced by NY Court

This week, as part of IRMI’s Expert Commentary Series, Gregory D. Podolak and H. Scott Williams authored an article addressing recent insurance developments and the resulting impact on the ...

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Merely Reciting Policy Exclusions Is Insufficient to Avoid a Defense Obligation

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court decision that Scottsdale Insurance Co. breached the duty to defend its policyholder, a home builder, in an underlying construction defect lawsuit br ...

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SDV is headquartered in Connecticut, with regional offices in New Jersey, Florida, and California to better serve our clients. We are ready to answer your questions and are eager to assist you in developing solutions.