The Northwest Policyholder
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Vandalism or Looting Impacted Your Business? Insurance Coverage & What to Do Now
The historic protests responding to the death of George Floyd and calling for racial justice have been accompanied, in some cities, by property damage and looting. The motivations behind the damage may make little difference to business owners alread...
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Washington Supreme Court: Consumer Protection Act Applies Broadly, Federal Courts Wrong
In Peoples v. USAA, decided on November 27, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court held that insurance companies can be liable under Washington's Consumer Protection Act (RCW Ch. 19.86) if they violate Washington claims-handling regulations and wrongfu...
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Oregon Court: Common Commercial Property Insurance Suit-Limitation Clause is Ambiguous
Oregon federal Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman gave policyholders an early Christmas present on December 20, 2019, holding that the most commonly-used suit limitation clause in commercial property insurance is ambiguous, and that therefore the poli...
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Insurance Coverage for Trade Secrets Claims
In a competitive industry trade secrets can be incredibly valuable. As a result, when trade secrets are stolen, litigation is common. Customer information, supply-chain strategies, marketing plans: all of these have been the subject of lawsuits, typi...
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Interpreting Insurance Exclusions for Flood and Surface Water Damage Caused by Human Activity in Oregon
Stormwater overflows and similar accidents are a frequent source of damage in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest generally. Insurers often deny coverage for resulting damage under the "surface and flood" waters exclusion. A recent case out of the U.S....
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Insurer Invokes "Act of War" Exclusion in Cyber Policy, Risking Growth for Coverage
The cyber-insurance world is discussing the ins-and-outs of litigation going on between food manufacturing giant Mondelez International and Zurich over coverage for the ten billion dollar NotPetya cyber attack that crippled several multi-national com...
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