On Dec. 24, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit, interpreting Florida law, held a marine engineering firm’s professional liability insurer owed no duty to defend a shipbuilder in an underlying wrongful death case. In reversing the Florida District Court’s decision, the Eleventh Circuit held the shipbuilder, though a contract partner of the engineering firm, was not a … Read More
On Jan. 12, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit held that the insurers’ knowing-conduct exclusion did not relieve the insurers from their duty to defend a lawsuit against their insureds alleging “willful” violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (“FACTA”). The court reversed the district court’s holding that this exclusion applied, and remanded the case … Read More
If 2014 was the year of the data breach, then the Target Corporation data breach – which impacted approximately 110 million customers – serves as the high water mark in a year full of cyber attacks on some of the world’s largest companies. In part because of its sheer size, the resulting consumer litigation has … Read More
Does your company have a policy similar to the following? “Email is the sole and exclusive property of the Company, and should be used for business purposes only. Employees are prohibited from using the email system in connection with engaging in activities on behalf of organizations or persons with no professional or business affiliation with … Read More
Christian & Small Managing Partner Deborah Alley Smith was recently featured as one of several contributors – comprised of both attorneys and judges – to an article entitled “Winning Appeals Before the Verdict: Embedding Appellate Counsel in the Trial Team” in the October 2014 issue of For The Defense, a Defense Research Institute (DRI) publication. The … Read More
On December 17, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit, interpreting Georgia law, determined there was ambiguity in an insured v. insured exclusion found within a D&O policy held by an FDIC controlled community bank. As seen herein, the decision could impact future directors and officers of failed banks seeking coverage. In 2010, the FDIC was appointed receiver … Read More
