Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Duty to Defend: Johnson Controls' Attempt to Turn Excess Insurance into Primary Insurance
In 1989, Milwaukee-based manufacturer Johnson Controls, Inc. initiated an insurance coverage action against 36 insurance companies seeking defense and coverage for potential environmental liability at various sites located around the country. This suit, which is still ongoing today, has generated a number of significant (and controversial) coverage opinions.
Most recently, in 2010, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin held that an indemnity-only umbrella excess liability policy contained a duty to defend by virtue of “follow form” policy language in the excess liability policy. The Wisconsin Supreme Court further held that the excess carrier's duty to defend was not conditioned upon exhaustion of the primary policy or any of the underlying layers of coverage. These rulings are contrary to the law in other states, and arguably convert low-premium, excess liability policies into primary policies when that clearly was not the parties' intention when the policies incepted.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
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.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.