HNRK Coverage Corner

On November 23, 2021, the New York Court of Appeals issued a decision in J.P. Morgan Secs. Inc. v. Vigilant Ins. Co., 2021 NY Slip Op 06528, resolving a long-standing coverage dispute over whether a disgorgement payment made as part of the settlement of an SEC enforcement action constituted a “penalty” that was excluded from coverage under a liability policy’s definition of “loss.”  The Appellate Division, First Department, in a decision previously covered on this blog, held that the payment was a penalty.  That decision relied principally on a 2017 decision of the United ...