View Recent Blog Posts in Insurance Coverage and Recovery

  • By: Michael deBarros On June 1, 2022, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana reminded insureds of the importance of providing early notice to their insurers of claims that may trigger coverage. In Nucor Steel Louisiana, LLC v. HDI Glob. Ins. Co., CV 21-1904, 2022 WL 1773866, at *1 (E.D. La. June 1, 2022),... Continue Reading...
  • By: Michael deBarros On March 27, 2020, Louisiana's Insurance Commissioner, Jim Donelon, issued Emergency Rule 39 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency Rule 39 provides all commercial insureds in Louisiana the right to demand a "mid-term self-audit" to determine if their policy premiums should be reduced, as long as the commercial insurance policies are "rated using an... Continue Reading...
  • By: Michael deBarros Businesses are scouring their insurance policies for coverage for COVID-19 losses. Among the insurance policies that may provide coverage for such losses are commercial property policies, pollution liability policies, general liability policies, workers' compensation policies, and employment practices liability policies. Coverage Under Property Policies (Business Interruption) Commercial property insurance policies often provide coverage for lost... Continue Reading...
  • By: Michael deBarros On October 22, 2019, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Smith v. Citadel Insurance case. Kean Miller's Insurance Recovery Team assisted several amici in presenting arguments to the Court in the case. In Smith, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that an insured's bad faith claims against its insurer are governed by a... Continue Reading...
  • By: Jessica Engler and Michael deBarros Policyholders are often disappointed in the amount of time their insurers take to investigate and pay claims. In 2003, the Texas Legislature enacted the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act ("TPPCA") to facilitate the prompt investigation and payment of Texas insurance claims.[2] Codified at Section 542 of the Texas Insurance Code, the TPPCA imposes an... Continue Reading...
  • By: Michael deBarros Insurers in oilfield legacy lawsuits often argue they are not responsible for their insureds' settlements with landowners because La. R.S. 30:29 ("Act 312") requires the settlements to be deposited into the court's registry for remediation. On March 7, 2018, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court dealt a significant blow to the insurers' argument. In Britt v.... Continue Reading...
  • By: Trippe Hawthorne and Mallory Fuller Click here to review a Practice Note explaining how to enforce arbitral awards in the state and federal courts in Louisiana. This Note explains the procedure for confirming an arbitration award in Louisiana, and the grounds on which a party may challenge enforcement under Louisiana and federal law, including the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement... Continue Reading...
  • By: Kean Miller By emergency declaration issued August 18, 2016, the Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Insurance adopted Emergency Rule 27. Emergency Rule 27 allows the Department of Insurance to suspend certain statutes in the Louisiana Insurance Code and the rules and regulations promulgated under those statutes that may affect families and business affected by the current... Continue Reading...
  • By: Kean Miller On May 5, 2015, in Kelly v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 14-1921 (La. 5/5/15); 2015 WL 2082540, the Louisiana Supreme Court, in response to certified questions from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, issued a unanimous decision reaffirming and clarifying the duties owed by insurers to their insureds. The Kelly Court concluded that:... Continue Reading...
  • By: Michael deBarros The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal held that an insurer must provide a complete defense to its insured in long-latency disease cases and that the duty to defend is not subject to proration. See Arceneaux v. Amstar Corp., 2014-0271 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2/25/15), 2015 WL 798980. In Arceneaux, American Sugar sued its insurer,... Continue Reading...