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Recent Blog Posts

• Illinois Courts Largely Favor Coverage for BIPA Cases Under CGL Policies Since Illinois passed its Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) in 2008, there has been a proliferation of class action lawsuits filed pursuant to the statute. BIPA generally bars private entities from collecting, capturing, purchasing, receiving, or otherwise obtaining a person’s biometric information without obtaining that person’s advance, informed consent (see 740 ILCS 14/15(b)), and grants a private right of action to individuals who are “aggrieved” by a violation of the statute, entitling them to recover liquidated or actual damages as... More
• Maximizing Business Insurance Coverage Benefits After a Fire Unfortunately, we again write while wildfire is devouring homes and businesses in Napa and Sonoma, and threatening many more. We’ve previously posted tips about first steps that you should take in the event your business has suffered a fire loss. We want to provide this refresher, as prompt action is important to preserve your business’ rights under its insurance policies and to maximize its ultimate insurance recovery. If your business has sustained a fire loss, below are steps for you... More
• Understanding the Insurer’s Duty to Settle Defense counsel often assume that an insurer has a “duty” to fund any settlement opportunity their client wants to accept. The legal requirements under California law for triggering an insurer’s duty to settle are far more nuanced.  For non-insurance practitioners, this is often a confounding and confusing topic!  The fact is, an insurer doesn’t have a “duty to settle” a case simply because the defendant wants to do so, or because defense counsel recommends it.  And while a demand within... More
• California Supreme Court Leans in Favor of Treating Defense Bills as Privileged Communications On October 6, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Los Angeles Board of Supervisors v. Superior Court, a case that we have blogged about twice in the past because of its possible impact on policyholders (see posts Submitting Your Defense Bills to Insurers Could Mean Waiving Privilege and California Supreme Court Will Review Appellate Decision Holding That Attorney Bills Are Privileged). On appeal, the Court will decide whether to affirm the California Court of Appeal’s decision that legal invoices... More
• Private D&O Insurance: Things You Should Know Erica Villanueva and Tyler Gerking will be presenting to the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) on September 14 (in San Francisco) and 15 (in Palo Alto) about private company D&O liability insurance, also known as management liability insurance. Below is a description of the program, which will touch on hot issues that many companies are dealing with right now. Use the links to view the event details and register online. Private D&O Insurance:  Things You Should Know September 14 – San Francisco September... More
• Protect the Investment: Require Portfolio Companies to Purchase Strong D&O Coverage Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance is a key resource for funding defense and settlement of claims without depleting the insureds’ assets. Private company D&O insurance, in particular, can provide exceptionally broad coverage to the company, its individual directors, officers, and sometimes even employees against shareholder litigation and derivative actions, criminal and regulatory investigations, and other business litigation claims based on negligence or breach of duty theories. This article I wrote for VC-List presents guidelines and key policy features to ensure that... More
• Do You Know What’s In Your Portfolio Company’s D&O Insurance? When a venture capital or private equity firm invests in a portfolio company (PC) and places a general partner on the PC’s board, they typically require that the PC agree to defend and indemnify the board member in any litigation arising out of their board service, and to purchase directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. However, the D&O insurance requirements are typically quite vague, and some firms may be surprised to learn of key gaps in the PC’s coverage. These gaps... More
• 5 Insurance Tips for Emerging Companies When a new company moves to secure funding and formalize operations, insurance is often an afterthought. But with a bit of effort, emerging companies can obtain strong insurance protection, maximize their existing coverage, and make themselves more attractive to future investors and other partners. Emerging companies should focus in particular on commercial general liability, data privacy and cyber liability, errors and omissions liability, directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) and, depending on the number of employees, fiduciary liability and employment practices... More
• Insurance Issues in the Sharing Economy I co-moderated a panel discussion at the Bar Association of San Francisco entitled “Insurance Issues In The Sharing Economy.” We had a lively and informative panel discussion between Kate Sampson, Managing Director at Marsh Risk & Insurance Services (and former VP of Insurance Solutions at Lyft), Chris Shultz of the California Department of Insurance, and Dan Wade of United Policyholders, a consumer advocacy group. We started off distinguishing between, and defining, the “App-Based Economy” and the “Sharing/Collaborative Economy.” The former refers... More
• California Supreme Court Will Review Appellate Decision Holding That Attorney Bills Are Privileged In June, I blogged about County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors v. Superior Court, 235 Cal. App. 4th 1154 (2015). In that case, the California Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District) concluded that legal defense bills qualified as privileged attorney-client communications, and therefore need not be produced in response to a California Public Records Act request. I noted that the case could have major implications for the insurer-policyholder relationship, particularly whether and/or when an insured could feel comfortable submitting... More