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State of California v. Continental Insurance Company
In a blow for insurers and contrary to the weight of authority in multiple other juridictions, the California Court of Appeals for the Fourth District recently reversed the trial court on its so-called “no stacking rule” and affirmed the trial court in its “all sums” liability allocation. In California v. Continental Insurance Co., — Cal. Rptr. 3d –, No. E041425, 2009 WL 18696 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan 15, 2009), the Fourth Appellate District held that, under California law: 1) an insured can horizontally stack policy limits when there is a continuous loss extending over multiple policy periods; and 2) each insurer that covers any part of the claim is obligated to pay the entire claim, up to the limits of its policy. Because environmental contamination generally occurs across policy periods, these rulings are likely to be cited by insureds seeking to maximize coverage and therefore merit careful scrutiny and explanation as to why they should not apply.
History of the Underlying Litigation
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
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Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal Liability
This article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.