A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The court rejected the insurers argument that a cyber attack initiated by the Russia Federation precluded coverage under the policies' hostile/warlike action exclusion. Merck & Co. v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 2021 N.J. Super. LEXIS 43 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. May 1, 2023).
Merck held all-risk policies issued by…
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's determination of coverage in a case involving cyber fraud. Valero Title Inc. v. RLI Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 2571 (5th Cir. Feb. 1, 2023).
Valero Title, Inc. purchased a crime-protection policy from RLI that included a funds transfer fraud endorsement. The…
The insurers' motion for judgment on the pleadings was successful, in part, for failing to properly name one insurer. Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club, Inc. v. Swiss Re Corp. Solutions America, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210815 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 21, 2022).
In 2019, two insurers, Peleus Insurance Company…
The court found there was no coverage for the insured's transmission to a foreign account held by someone who gained unauthorized access to the account. Construction Fin. Admin. Services, LLC v. Fed Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Distl LEXIS 103042 (E.D. Pa. June 9, 2022).
The insured, Construction Financial Administration Services…
The court found that a fraudster's sending of an email was a "computer use" under the Computer Fraud Insuring Agreement (CFIA) of the policy. City of Unalaska v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51387 (D. Alaska March 18, 2022).
The city of Unalaska received an email…
The court determined that the insured's policy did not cover the theft of funds orchestrated by instructions from fraudsters. Star Title Partners of Palm Harbor, LLC v. Illinois Union Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 193001 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 1, 2021).
Star Title was a title company retained by Neil…
The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment which held that the insurer had no duty to defend a data breach suit filed against the insured. Landry's, Inc. v. Ins. Co. of the State of Pennsylvania, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 21688 (5th Cir July 21, 2021).
Landry's…
The appellate court found that cross-motions for summary judgment filed by the insured and insurer for a claim arising from computer fraud were properly denied. G&G Oil Co. of Ind. v. Cont'l W. Ins. Co., 2021 Ind. LEXIS 182 (Ind. March 18, 2021).
G&G Oil discovered one morning it was…
The Fifth Circuit upheld the district court's denial of coverage under the policy's Computer Transfer Fraud provision. Mississippi Silicon Holdings, L.L.C. v. Axis Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 3112 (5th Cir. Feb. 4, 2021).
Mississippi Silicon Holdings' (MSH) chief Financial Officer, John Lalley, received an email from a regular…
While the Arizona Appellate Court found limited coverage for a computer fraud attack against the insured, it also determined there were multiple occurrences. AIMS Ins. Program Managers, Inc. v. Nat'l Fire Ins. Co., 2921 Ariz. App. Unpub. LEXIS 123 (Ariz. Ct. App. Feb. 4, 2021).
Thieves secretly accessed from an…
