HNRK Coverage Corner

On June 13, 2023, the Sixth Circuit issued a decision in Admiral Ins. Co. v. Fire-Dex, LLC, Case No. 22-3922, affirming a district court’s order declining to exercise jurisdiction over an insurer’s declaratory judgment action on the ground that the action turned on a “novel issue of Ohio insurance law” that should be resolved by the Ohio state courts.

At issue in Fire-Dex was whether illnesses arising from exposure to PFAS—so-called “forever chemicals”—in a manufacturer’s finished products constitute an “occupational disease” under Ohio law.  The Sixth ...

On May 23, 2023, SDNY Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn issued an order in In re: SVB Financial Group, Case No. 23-10367(MG), lifting an automatic stay to permit Silicon Valley Bank’s D&O insurers to advance to defense costs to the bank’s officers in connection with litigation arising from the bank’s collapse.

A typical D&O policy offers coverage both to the corporation and to its officers and directors.  SVB D&O insurance program consists of 16 so-called “ABC Policies”, which provides three categories of coverage: (1) “Side A” coverage goes directly to directors and ...