Insurance Recovery

Eric Jesse speaks with Law360 about a recent Delaware decision finding D&O coverage under policies issued to a SPAC, noting that “the court really held the insurance companies to the language they drafted in the policy."

Jesse says that the policy in question in the case Clover Health Investments, Corp. f/k/a Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. III v. Berkley Insurance Company et al clearly stated that it covered anyone “who was or shall become a director or officer of the SPAC, and also its ‘functional equivalents.” He adds that this terminology is used “pretty often" in D&O policies, so the decision could have a "far-reaching ruling in the SPAC context."

As a panelist at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's Transactional Risk Symposium, partner and Insurance Recovery Group Chair Lynda A. Bennett commented on recent trends in claims under representations and warranties insurance policies, such as decreasing frequency and increasing severity as a possible result of less rigorous diligence. As reported in Law360, Bennett said: “We're seeing some of the impact of how fast these deals were being done. The diligence wasn't as deep or as wide as it could have or should have been, and companies are seeing that they didn't buy what they thought they bought."

Bennett also predicted that, as self-insured retentions come down due to increased competition, more claims may exceed the retention thresholds in policies, resulting in more claims being reported to insurers.

Eric Jesse talks to Law360 about the recent Sixth Circuit decision finding no duty to defend for insurers in opioid cases. Jesse found the ruling “disappointing for policyholders” because the appeals court failed to follow basic insurance law principles. "There are a lot of inconsistencies within the decision, and frankly, just a failure of the Sixth Circuit to apply black letter duty to defend principles and principles governing the interpretation of ambiguous policy provisions," says Jesse. He continues: “When you have multiple courts interpreting 'because of' in different ways, it demonstrates that there are multiple reasonable interpretations making the phrase ambiguous and requiring it to really be interpreted, in favor of the policyholder, especially in the duty to defend context.” He recommends that policyholders seeking coverage “identify specific examples from the underlying action, where the costs being alleged are necessarily tied to responding to bodily injuries resulting from opioid addiction. Those can include EMT costs, health care services costs and rehabilitation services costs, because governments cannot have a claim for those types of costs without the underlying bodily injury."

In a wide-ranging, nine-minute video interview with Business Insurance, Andrew Reidy addresses key forces that are affecting directors and officers’ liability. Reidy responds to queries about how factors such as the development of ESG programs, COVID claims and challenging market conditions should prompt corporations to revisit their D&O coverage. He also offers his “Top 4 Considerations for the D&O Market” in the coming year, which include the impact of a new Congress on the regulatory environment and the increasing trend of a more aggressive and proactive approach to securing coverage by policyholders.

Lynda A. Bennett, partner and chair of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery Group, talks to Law360 about when lawyers should notify their insurance carriers about potential malpractice liability. While advising lawyers to err on the side of caution, Bennett says: “There's always a judgment call involved in a potential future claim. Is this an unhappy client who is expressing dissatisfaction, or do they really intend to take legal action against the attorney?” (subscription required to access article)

Lynda A. Bennett, partner and Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group, discusses in Law360 the sharp rise in cybersecurity claims and, consequently, stricter insurance requirements. Bennett believes that the "real concern for policyholders" is that insurers will increasingly deny coverage based upon alleged misrepresentations about multifactor authentication. "Carriers are getting so swamped with claims, they're looking for any way they can to start managing that risk," Bennett says. "Taking aggressive positions seeking to rescind policies based on alleged misrepresentations is certainly one arrow in their quiver." She recommends that companies employ a holistic approach to their insurance applications, “bringing together the important stakeholders in your organization to really go through the questions that are being asked, to understand the terminology that's being used in the application questions and in the policy itself.”

Comments by partners Lynda A. Bennett, chair of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery Group, and Elaine M. Hughes, co-chair of its Investment Management Group, are featured in a recent report by Leopard Solutions on their survey Women Leaving the Law, which examines the factors that prompt women to leave their legal careers, and the issues that might bring them back.  

Bennett says that clients are seeking greater accountability from their law firms where credit for work is concerned.  She says, “I've really seen a difference in approach from the client perspective, with them saying ‘we need to know who's getting credit and who's getting compensated.’ So I need to make sure that that credit is being properly attributed. Otherwise, I'm going to find another firm to send the work to.”

Hughes describes how Lowenstein’s corporate governance committee focuses on “making sure that the [firm’s] committees are more representative of who we are as a firm and who we should be as a firm;” as well as the firm’s centralized assignment database, which helps to counter partners’ tendencies to use the same associate on certain types of matters and to ensure an equitable distribution of opportunities.

In Law360, Andrew Reidy discusses several general liability cases of interest to policyholders that will be decided by various courts across the country in the coming months. 

• Regarding a pending Washington State Supreme Court case about whether an insurance policy requiring that both the occurrence take place during the policy period and the claim be reported to the insurer in the same year is a violation of public policy, Reidy says: “There’s even a stronger argument or concern that it’s a stealth elimination of coverage.… if this type of policy is enforced, it would leave a number of companies without any protection.”
• Regardng the expected ruling from the California Supreme Court relating to whether TCPA claims are covered under California law, Reidy observes: “The court’s grappling with whether the right to privacy includes the right to seclusion as well as the right to secrecy…. a reasonable person would expect privacy to encompass both. In this day and age, it is incredibly important to obtain both coverages.”
• Reidy also addresses a Wisconsin case considering the scope of coverage under a general liability policy  for a subcontractor’s damage to other property based on an exception to the “damage to your work”  exclusion, noting that the decision will be “incredibly significant because most projects of any size have numerous subcontractors working for the general contractor… if the decision comes out the right way for insureds, it will clarify hopefully for other courts in the future the scope of this coverage.”

Eric Jesse is interviewed on The Virtual CISO Podcast on how to optimize cyber liability insurance coverage and navigate the underwriting process. Jesse says that the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other factors have made the underwriting process “more intensive; insurers want to really probe and understand what security systems does a company have in place, what is being done to train employees to prevent attacks.” He adds that: “Insurers have been and continue to be more aggressive and difficult in claims as they try to look for savings.”

Lynda A. Bennett, chair of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery practice, is quoted in Law360’s article on the recently published appellate decision allowing a transgender man to seal the public record of his name change as a sign of the “encouraging trend of courts becoming more sympathetic to individuals targeted by bigotry.” Bennett says: "My view is that the Appellate Division was trying to tell trial courts to get the message that the right of privacy is real and needs to be protected.”

Metro Weekly reports on Lowenstein’s pro bono victory where the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division found in favor of a transgender man seeking to keep records of his name change private. In an interview, Lynda A. Bennett, partner and Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group, who filed an amicus brief in favor of the plaintiff, says: “Part of what was behind the court’s decision … was to ensure that landlords couldn’t discriminate against trans people, that employers couldn’t discriminate, that educational institutions can’t discriminate, because if this type of a name change application is not sealed, then anyone who has access to the internet can ‘silently discriminate’ against the trans community.” She adds that the case “really is at the forefront of protecting privacy rights in the transgender community… The very detailed opinion that was issued and some of the specific language used about why it is important to protect these privacy rights, and the detailed analysis the court engaged in, is something that will help pave the way for courts in other states to review it and consider it and hopefully come to the same conclusion.”

Law360’s ‘How They Won It’ column also features the case. Michael J. Scales recalls that “one of the biggest challenges for the Lowenstein Sandler team was locating publicly available data on the violence and harassment faced by transgender people,” adding: “It appears that, unfortunately, not many resources have been dedicated to studying and reporting this reality. Data certainly exists and overwhelmingly proves that point, but most of the reports point back to only a handful of studies.”

Bennett calls “working with Argentino Fiore and the attorneys from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, or TLDEF… a true team effort.” She continues: “The opinion also gave the plaintiff some peace of mind that random people surfing the internet will not have instant access to one of the most personal decisions an individual has the right to make without fear of retribution or consequence.”

Lynda A. Bennett, partner and Chair of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery Group, comments in Law360 on a recent decision by Ohio's Second Appellate District Court finding that damages caused by a loss of system access due to a ransomware attack could be considered tangible and thus covered by a company’s property insurance. “The Ohio ruling coupled with the ongoing wave of COVID­-19 business- ­interruption coverage suits should lead policyholders to look at their policy renewal forms very carefully and see what changes insurers are making, “ Bennett says, adding that this decision could lead to complete cyber exclusions in traditional insurance policies. “There's a lot of parallels here between what's going on in COVID-­19 coverage fights," she continues. “The insurance companies take the position that physical loss is equivalent to damage to tangible property. But that's not what the language says.”

Law.com and The Philadelphia Inquirer report on the rejection by the Official Committee of Tort Claimant Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, of a proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan that Jeffrey D. Prol calls “patently unfair.” Prol, Vice Chair of Lowenstein’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Department, continues: “I think it stinks. Based on the extreme trauma suffered by the claimants, if their cases were going to trial in the state court system, some of them would be valued at $10 million each.”

Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery group, calls the offer “woefully inadequate,” adding that the Committee is “not interested at all” in agreeing to $40 million in payments spread out over time. Bennett says, “The diocese is trying to improperly lowball the value of these claims.”

Prol continues: “We conducted an investigation and we uncovered assets, liquid assets and cash and investments, in excess of $250 million. The parishes own a lot of real estate, as does the diocese. To propose to release itself and all the other entities from liability for $26 million when they have assets approaching $1 billion is patently unfair. We will be opposing that plan.”

In Law360, Michael A. Kaplan, partner in the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense group,  addresses the Committee’s intention to file fraudulent transfer claims against the Diocese with regard to the write-off of more than $52 million in loans to parishes and schools, calling it another “example of the diocese's lack of financial transparency and diligence.”

Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group, comments on the impact of ransomware attacks on the cyber insurance market in Law360. Bennett says that there is "a bit of an overstated doomsday scenario" that cyber insurance will disappear, adding that “insurers have collected premiums on this coverage line for quite a long time and will want to continue to do so.”

Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery group, is noted in Law360 as counsel to Thornton Law Firm LLP in an insurance coverage suit Thornton filed against Continental Casualty Co. in Illinois state court. The suit arose after Continental denied coverage of Thornton’s legal fees stemming from an investigation into alleged overbilling in a Massachusetts federal class action. After Thornton filed its coverage action in Illinois, Continental filed a competing action in Massachusetts federal court. Each side then moved for dismissal of the other party’s action. The judge in the Massachusetts case agreed to withhold a decision pending the Illinois case’s outcome. The Illinois court found that Continental’s arguments for litigating the dispute in Massachusetts were “spurious” and that the insurer’s claim of the risk of premium hikes harming Massachusetts’ legal industry were speculative and unsupported. Further, the Illinois court held that Illinois has an interest in regulating insurers resident in its state where, as here, bad faith is alleged. As a result, Thornton’s first-filed Illinois case will proceed.

Zarema A. Jaramillo, Managing Partner of Lowenstein’s Washington, D.C. office, is featured in Northern Virginia Technology Council’s (NVTC) member spotlight, where she discusses the firm’s growth and how it is serving technology clients in the Washington area. Jaramillo says, “The synergy of our core practices here in D.C. seamlessly complements the firm’s wide range of transactional work in technology, private equity, and life sciences, as well as others, and enables us to offer a multidimensional, global perspective to businesses operating around the world.” She adds that the D.C. office is rapidly growing “because we are attracting the highest caliber of attorneys who are able to collaborate in a great culture that encourages an entrepreneurial mindset. … As a woman-led office, we are focusing our efforts on making it a place where all lawyers can grow and succeed and shape their practices in a way that allows them to be all that they can be.”

Lowenstein's representation of PeriGen Inc. (PeriGen), a leading provider of perinatal health care software solutions, in its sale to Halma plc is noted in the Global Legal Chronicle. The Lowenstein deal team includes Sam E. Khan, Christopher C. Henry, Rachel Ingwer, Lauren M. Troeller, Diana Kim, Kimberly E. Lomot, Megan Monson, Taryn E. Cannataro, Eric Jesse, Bryan Sterba, Matthew P. Hintz, David Toma, James C. Shehan, Edgar R. Hidalgo CIPP/US, Mark S. Heinzelmann, Emily B. Sklar, Megan Williams, Latoya Bethune, and Amanda Sewanan. View Lowenstein's news announcement about this transaction.

Zarema A. Jaramillo is featured in a recent Lowenstein video that describes the ways in which our Washington, D.C., office serves the technology community in the greater D.C. metro area. The video appears in Potomac Tech Wire, a e-newsletter that provides a daily summary of the area's most important technology news.

Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group, comments in Law360 on a recent ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court that holds that state law permits D&O insurance coverage for fraud. “The Supreme Court recognized that the indemnity coverage that is provided is ultimately intended to benefit the victims of the alleged misconduct," Bennett says. She adds that she is “encouraged by the Delaware Supreme Court's recognition that robust D&O coverage is necessary both for companies to attract qualified individuals to serve on their boards and to provide compensation to stockholders or others who are harmed by directors and officers' bad acts.”

Lowenstein's news announcement, Anticipated Spike in Deal Activity in 2021 Makes Customized R&W Insurance Critical, Finds Lowenstein Sandler, is noted in Business Wire, About You, Asia Insurance Review, Benzinga, Financial Content, Insurance Daily News, Mainframe Consulting, MarketWatch, Morningstar, Seeking Alpha, StreetInsider.com, Yahoo! Finance, Pharma Trend, and Craft.

In Part 2 of the American Association of Bank Directors’ podcast, Calling All Bank Directors: What You Need to Know Before and After Your Bank Renews Its D&O Insurance, Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the Insurance Recovery group, discusses how banks and their directors can successfully access their coverage; the importance of understanding the scope of the bank’s indemnification of directors and officers before the policy terms are finalized; how the definition of “claim” in the policy may affect coverage for regulatory investigations and other matters; how to properly and timely file and manage a claim; and how to negotiate the language in the policy without necessarily increasing the cost of the coverage. She notes that “one of the biggest mistakes we see clients make is not providing immediate notice of claims. … A claim is defined in all of these policies quite broadly to include any written demand for monetary or nonmonetary relief.”

Lowenstein's retention as counsel to the Official Committee of Tort Claimant Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of the Diocese of Camden (New Jersey) is noted in the Global Legal Chronicle. Serving approximately 486,368 Catholics living in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties, the diocese is comprised of 62 parishes. The Lowenstein team is led by Jeffrey D. Prol, Brent Weisenberg, Lynda A. Bennett, Matthew Boxer, and Kenneth A. Rosen. View Lowenstein's news announcement about this retention. 

Lynda A. Bennett comments in Law360 on a trend in recent Delaware Supreme Court decisions toward limiting the reach of directors and officers insurance, as demonstrated by the court’s recent holding that denied Solera Holdings Inc.’s claim for $39 million in coverage for costs incurred during its buyout by Vista Equity Partners. The court held that an appraisal action is a “neutral proceeding” and thus did not trigger coverage for securities-related claims in Solera’s excess D&O policies. This is the second time in a year that the Delaware court has narrowly interpreted the scope of a securities claim under a D&O policy.

Bennett says the decision goes against “numerous fundamental principles of insurance law. … Usually in the context of policy language interpretation, when there are two reasonable definitions offered for a term, that should lead to a finding of ambiguity and a ruling in favor of coverage.” She adds, “This decision is disappointing to policyholders because they buy D&O coverage to protect them when a claim is brought against them seeking relief for something connected to the purchase or sale of securities. … This is what this was. From a reasonable expectations perspective, it is surprising that a company being sued by its shareholders would find itself without coverage.”

Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the Insurance Recovery group, addresses the current D&O insurance market, the most important provisions in a D&O policy, the most common mistakes that banks make regarding D&O insurance, and how banks may achieve the best possible insurance coverage on Calling All Bank Directors: What You Need to Know Before Your Bank Renews Its D&O Insurance, Part 1, the podcast of the American Association of Bank Directors.  Bennett calls the discussion especially timely as, in her 26 years of practice, she has never seen such a volatile D&O market for bankers and bank directors, as well as for other companies in other industries.

“The market is incredibly in flux, premiums are skyrocketing, self-insured retentions are going up, capacity in the market is shrinking and particularly drying up in certain industries where it is difficult to keep the full tower of coverage that you have and in some instances to stay with the same carriers that have historically been part of your insurance program; and last, we have also seen a restriction in terms, and that is very specific to the banking industry, as insurance companies are taking a very careful and hard look at the scope of coverage that they’re going to provide for regulatory investigations and other informal inquiries conducted by governmental officials.” She adds that COVID-19 has made all these issues even more acute, so it is critically important that companies with coverage coming up for renewal reach out to insurance professionals in order to be prepared for a detailed underwriting process that could be “potentially painful.”

Lowenstein's retention as counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy of Century 21 Department Stores is noted in the Global Legal Chronicle. Century 21 operates 13 retail stores across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida, along with an e-commerce platform. The Lowenstein team is led by Jeffrey Cohen, Kenneth A. Rosen, Lynda A. Bennett, Eric Chafetz, Brent Weisenberg, and Lindsay H. Sklar. View Lowenstein's news announcement about this retention. 

Lowenstein's representation of Traub Capital, an investment firm specializing in building value in consumer companies using its unique combination of strategic, operational, and financial expertise, in the company’s purchase of MANA Products, a premier beauty contract manufacturer based in Long Island City, New York, is noted in the Global Legal Chronicle. The Lowenstein deal team included Michael A. Brosse, Lauren M. Troeller, Lowell A. Citron, Doreen M. Edelman, Darren Goodman, Ted Hunter, Marc S. Kurzweil, Gavin J. Rooney, Jeffrey M. Shapiro, Michael Walutes, James C. Shehan, Norman W. Spindel, Daniel A. Suckerman, David Toma, Stuart S. Yusem, Abbey E. Baker, Eric Jesse, Stacey  C. Tyler, Naomi D. Barrowclough, Matthew P. Hintz, Manali Joglekar, Kimberly E. Lomot, Kathleen A. McGee, Megan Monson, Zachary L. Berliner, Christian C. Contardo, Mark S. Heinzelmann, Amanda C. Lutick, Michael T. Melchiorre, Joshua A. Rabinovits, Stephen Tanico, Jenna-Marie Tracy, Joseph Mignone, and Keith Janowitz. View Lowenstein's news announcement about this transaction.

The release of Lowenstein’s research report, Getting Paid: A Look at Representations & Warranties Insurance, by Lynda A. Bennett, partner and Chair of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery Group, and Eric Jesse, counsel in the group, is noted in Private Equity Wire, DealLawyers, Yahoo! News, Private Equity Professional, and the American Bar Association's Business Law Section Business Law Today newsletter. The report found while R&W policies have proliferated, a key question remains unanswered: Do insurers actually pay the claims? The answer is “yes”–with some caveats. View Lowenstein's news announcement about the report.

Lowenstein's representation of PeakSpan Capital in an investment transaction in which PeakSpan, Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, and others invested more than $42 million in Ecwid is noted in the Global Legal Chronicle. The Lowenstein team was led by Anthony O. Pergola and Juan B. Soto and included Ifat Lipman, Joon Hwan Kim, and Serena Ward, with support from Darren Goodman, Eric Jesse, Leah Satlin, Sophia Mokotoff, and the firm’s Global Trade & National Security team (led by Doreen M. Edelman), among others. View Lowenstein's news announcement about this transaction.

Boardroom Insider features comments by Lynda A. Bennett on D&O liability risks in the wake of COVID-19. She notes that insurance companies will “take a careful look at your public disclosures on preparations and risk factors” and that a legitimate “notice of circumstances” now can lock in coverage under current terms for possible future claims. Bennett also observes: “There’s going to be a scramble to keep Side A coverage in place,” with the price for this kind of personal protection likely to go up. Finally, she cautions that “[t]here will be no more rote renewals.” Bennett expects tighter terms, broader exclusions for risks associated with pandemics, more questions about preparedness, and increased premiums from fewer providers. (subscription required to access article)

Lynda A. Bennett, Chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery group, spoke to Business Insurance on potential legal battles over coverage of business interruptions in the wake of COVID-19. She says, “There’s no doubt that some policyholders have a very clear and likely enforceable virus exclusion.” Other exclusions, however, may not be strictly applicable. “Jurisdiction is going to matter,” she continues. “There are some jurisdictions that are known to be very insurer-friendly and just as many jurisdictions that are known to be more inclined to see the policyholders’ view toward things.” Bennett adds that where some jurisdictions apply pollution exclusions broadly, “there are just as many other jurisdictions that say otherwise.”

Lowenstein’s representation of NexPhase Capital in its investment in Popcornopolis was reported in Business Wire, the Valdosta Daily Times, Bloomberg Law – Big Law Business, The Tullahoma Tennessee News, Mergers & Acquisitions, and the Global Legal Chronicle. The Lowenstein team included Christopher C. Henry, Michael Walutes, Matt Savare, Vanessa A. Ignacio, Julie Levinson Werner, James C. Shehan, Eric Jesse, Sabrina Cua, Bryan Sterba, Megan Monson, and Lauren M. Troeller. View Lowenstein's news announcement about this transaction.

Lynda A. Bennett comments in Legaltech News on why some law firms choose cybersecurity vendors pre-vetted by their insurance company, some opt for their own selection, and others seek precertification of their own vendors. “I think that the insurance company, in general, is investing a lot of time and money to vet if those cybersecurity companies are qualified and capable,” she says. “I think the insurers, when you ask them to add your own vendor, they may be willing to do that but there might be a higher deductible or self-insured retention up front.” Bennett further observes that “some law firms are inquiring whether they can get vendors [who] right now manage their data to be preauthorized in the event of a breach, and that’s really driven by how law firms are very concerned about keeping their confidential data confidential. … Rather than having a discussion and debate when a data breach is ongoing, they are asking their cyber insurers to already authorize [their vendor].”

The transition of leadership of Lowenstein Sandler’s D.C. office to Antitrust/Competition partner Zarema A. Jaramillo was covered in Bloomberg Law – Big Law Business, General Counsel News, The Hill, The Deal, and The Washington Post. Jaramillo is set to take over on January 1, 2020, from Jeffrey Blumenfeld, who founded the D.C. office in 2014 and will remain Co-chair of the firm’s Antitrust/Competition practice.

Lynda A. Bennett, chair of the firm’s Insurance Recovery group, comments for Law360 on one of “4 Key Insurance Rulings You May Have Missed This Summer.” In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Arnold, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that Nationwide Mutual Insurance had to defend a whistleblower in a suit alleging that he falsely accused a contractor of overcharging the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; the appellate court panel refused to interpret a 'business pursuits' exclusion so broadly that any coverage at all would be denied if there was any connection whatsoever to the work of the insured.

Bennett remarks that the noteworthy decision not only provided rare guidance on the business pursuits exclusion but could also be applied to disputes over a number of other policy exclusions. "A lot of the court's decision centers around this 'arising out of' language, which you see in a lot of exclusions,” she says. "There is a potential for this case to have broader reach because the court narrowly interpreted what this language means."

Lynda A. Bennett provides commentary for Law360’s roundup of “Insurance Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2019.” Remarking on the upcoming decision in Daniel Berg v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will determine whether a state appeals court overstepped its bounds in a bad faith case by vacating a $21 million judgment, Bennett says that upholding the ruling will impact policyholders’ trust in the appellate review process: "Bad faith issues are highly fact-intensive and often hinge on witness credibility. It was troubling to me that an appellate court would usurp the judgment of the trial court on a 'cold record' in a fact-heavy case like this." She also observes that the high dollar amount of the reward serves as a deterrent to insurers from engaging in unreasonable conduct: "The trial judge saw smoke and found fire, and with this damages award, he was clearly trying to send a message to the insurance industry: 'if you behave like this, you will be punished.'"

Lowenstein Sandler is highlighted in Bloomberg Law – Big Law Business and the Global Legal Chronicle for its role in recovering full coverage litigation fees in an ongoing suit against its client’s insurer. The Lowenstein team included Lynda A. Bennett and Eric Jesse.

Joseph M. Saka is quoted in Business Insurance regarding coverage for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act claims. Saka cautions policyholders procuring coverage for FCPA claims to be cautious of limitations including carve outs in loss definitions.

Lynda A. Bennett comments on the Vanderbilt Co v. Hartford insurance case regarding coverage for asbestos injury claims, noting her optimism that the Connecticut Supreme Court justices will affirm the appellate panel's recognition of the unavailability rule, which maximizes coverage available to policyholders facing asbestos claims, as published in Law360. Bennett states, “What carriers are trying to do is expand the allocation period to spread it into more policy years, in order to artificially block full recovery under the policies that were purchased." She further states, “If the allocation period includes years in which the policyholders could not purchase insurance, the practical implication is that the insurers that did take on that risk will take on a smaller share."

Law360 quotes Lynda A. Bennett, who critiques a strongly worded dissenting opinion in a recent appellate court ruling upholding the “unavailability rule” which protects policyholders from having to pay for costs attributed to claims arising during a time period when insurance coverage was not available for a particular risk. (subscription required to access article)

Law360 quotes Lynda A. Bennett regarding the potential approval of the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act, who stresses how the bill which would “put bad-faith claims back on the table in cases where insurers’ claims-handling conduct really needs to be examined” would benefit policyholders. (subscription required to access article)

Law360 notes Michael D. Lichtenstein and Catherine M. Aiello as counsel for Cooper Industries LLC in an article discussing Cooper’s victory on appeal in a state court insurance coverage action. (subscription required to access article)

Lynda A. Bennett comments in Law360 on how a recent New Jersey appeals court decision affects the "continuous trigger" theory for insurance in construction defect liability claims.

Lynda A. Bennett comments in Law360 on how a recent Third Circuit decision limiting the ability of policyholders to keep coverage disputes out of federal court may lead to inconsistent rulings by federal and state courts on insurance coverage issues.

In CSO Online, Lynda Bennett comments on the importance of policyholders of carefully reviewing their cyber insurance policies.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law360 on how to allocate responsibility for a loss when coverage is no longer available to insure a risk.

In Law360, Lynda Bennett and Eric Jesse are mentioned for their representation of a food equipment manufacturer in its insurance broker malpractice lawsuit.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law360 on a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that will address insurance allocation issues associated with long-tail asbestos liabilities.

In Law360, Lynda Bennett comments on the implications of a New York court's ruling on allocation for long-tail liabilities.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law 360 on a recent Supreme Court of New Jersey decision in favor of the insureds based on the viability of the subcontractor exception.

Lynda Bennett is quoted in Hotel Management Magazine on the importance of negotiating terms and conditions for cyber insurance policies.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law360 regarding the Appellate Division's recent decision addressing insurance coverage for product liability claims and the applicable standard for the impaired property exclusion.

Lynda Bennett comments in Risk & Insurance Magazine about the complexities of today's cyber policies and the challenge of selecting the "right" one.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law360 on the impact of a New Jersey Supreme Court decision assessing an insurer's late notice defense.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law360 regarding the New Jersey Supreme Court's grant of certification to decide issues impacting the scope of insurance coverage available for construction defect claims.

Andrew Reidy, Catherine Serafin, and Joseph Saka are mentioned in Law360 regarding the tentative settlement of a lawsuit that resulted from defaulted loans which are being sought out by the issuing company.

Law360 highlights the New York Supreme Court's decision in favor of our client in two federal lawsuits seeking damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Led by Lynda Bennett and Eric Jesse, Lowenstein Sandler represented our client in a dispute involving insurance coverage for statutory damages available under the FCRA. The Insurance Recovery group secured a summary judgment victory for the client, who is now entitled to recovery of the costs that were incurred in the coverage litigation.

Lynda Bennett comments in CSO Online on the importance of reading the fine print in cyber insurance policies.

Lynda Bennett is featured in Law360, discussing four battleground issues that insurance lawyers are tracking in the Garden State.

Lynda Bennett comments in Law360 regarding the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision to award attorneys' fees to a plaintiff who went after a defendant's insurer after the defendant was cleared. According to Lynda, the opinion provides a clear warning for insurers to think twice before avoiding a defense obligation due to coverage litigation fees.

Lynda Bennett is featured in The Wall Street Journal, discussing how increased attention from regulators is changing the cyber insurance market for insurers and their customers.

Lynda A. Bennett is featured in Security Magazine regarding cyber insurance and addresses important questions surrounding the industry.

Lynda Bennett is quoted in Millionaire Corner regarding the early stages of evaluating the claims history associated with cyber insurance policies.

In Law360, Lynda Bennett comments on the Supreme Court of New Jersey's refusal to alter the judicial standard around bad faith claims in insurance coverage disputes and how the decision prevents policyholders from acquiring important information that reflects the insurers' decision-making processes.

Andrew Reidy and Catherine Serafin are mentioned in Law360 regarding the Eleventh Circuit's decision to overturn the lower court and hold that defendant had to provide insurance coverage for an underlying claim.

In Law360, Lynda Bennett comments on the New Jersey Supreme Court's review of the bad faith liability standard imposed against insurers, noting that early discovery provides policyholders with the best leverage to pursue insurer bad faith.

In Law360, Lynda Bennett is highlighted as a member of Lowenstein Sandler's Executive Board and the chair of the firm's insurance practice. Having women represent the firm in a number of notable positions led to the firm being listed among the 50 Best Law Firms for Women.