Rani Gupta’s commentary was included in a Law360 article detailing the top general liability rulings for the first half of 2024.
Rani comments on a Texas Supreme Court ruling that a $220 million settlement the now-bankrupt Cobalt International Energy Inc. reached with a group of investors constitutes a loss under the energy company's insurance policies. However, the state justices chose not to go as far as to say that the settlement is binding against the insurers or admissible to establish either coverage or the amount of any covered loss.
Rani told Law360 that the Texas Supreme Court's ruling that the investors can pursue a direct action against the insurers is an important one because, if an insurer denies coverage, many insureds can't always afford to fund an entire settlement and then fund a separate coverage action.
“This gives them a way to resolve the dispute and be able to access their insurance coverage in a roundabout way,” Rani said.
In addition, Rani commented on a Delaware Supreme Court ruling stating that an attorney's presuit letter claiming that Syngenta Crop Protection’s herbicide Paraquat caused his clients' Parkinson's disease does not constitute a "claim for damages" under the company's policies with a pair of Zurich units.
The high court affirmed a lower court's finding that a letter sent by attorney Stephen Tillery to Syngenta was "too unclear and amorphous" to constitute a claim for damages under policies issued by Zurich American Insurance Co. and American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co.
Rani stated that the decision was well reasoned and will benefit policyholders because it will prevent them from being deprived of claims-made coverage based on communications from a plaintiff's attorney that may be "testing the water" more than making an actual and actionable demand for monetary damages.
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