A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The policy's false pretense exclusion relied upon the insurer to deny coverage for an act of cyber fraud was found ambiguous. Rainforest Chocolate v. Sentinel Ins. Co., 2018 VT LEXIS 140 (Vt. Dec. 28, 2018).
Rainforest Chocolate, LLC was insured under a business-owner policy issued by Sentinel. In May 2016…
The Court of Common Pleas in Ohio determined that BitCoin was property and denied the insurer's motion for judgment on the pleadings seeking to establish there was limited coverage for the loss. Kimmelman v. Wayne Ins. Group, 2018 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1953 (Ohio Misc. Sept. 25, 2018).
James Kimmelman submitted…
The federal district court agreed with the insurer that there was no coverage for the insured's causing a data breach. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Rosen Millennium, Inc., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173072 (M. D. Fla. Sept. 28, 2018).
Millennium provided data security services for Rosen Hotels…
The Sixth Circuit, overturning the district court's award of summary judgment to the insurer, reversed and remanded denial of the claim for computer fraud. Am. Tooling Center, Inc. v. Travelers Cas. and Sur. Co of Am., 895 F.3d 455 (6th Cir. 2018).
American Tooling Center (ATC) produced stamping dies for…
The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's finding of coverage for a cyber attack. Medidata Solutions Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App LEXIS 18376 (2nd Cir. July 6, 2018). The district court's decision is summarized in a prior post here.
Medidata sued Federal when coverage was denied…
The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of the insured's complaint by granting the insurer's motion for judgment on the pleadings. Spec's Family Partners, Ltd. v. Hanover Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 17246 (5th Cir. June 25, 2018).
Spec's was a specialty retail chain that accepted payments from…
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of coverage under a Computer Fraud policy. Interactive Communications International, Inc. v. Great American Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 12410 (11th Cir. May 10, 2018).
Great American issued a Computer Fraud policy to Interactive Communications International, Inc. (InComm). InComm sells "chits" to consumers, who…
The insured's Computer Fraud policy failed to provide coverage for a fraudulent email scheme based upon an exclusion barring coverage where an authorized person entered the insured's computer system. Aqua Star Untied States Corp. v. Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am., 2018 US. App. LEXIS 9660 (9th Cir. April 17, 2018). …
The federal district court determined there was coverage for losses sustained by the insured due to a cyber attack. Medidata Solutions, Inc. v. Federal Ins. Co., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122210 (S.D. N.Y. July 21, 2017).
Medidata provided cloud-based services to scientists conducting research in clinical trials. Medidata email addresses…
