A Delaware court has ruled that Hartford and other insurance carriers do not have a duty to defend Meta in thousands of lawsuits accusing the company's platforms, Facebook and Instagram, of harming children.
The suit (Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. et al. v. Instagram, LLC, et al.) was placed before the Superior Court of the State of Delaware. The court's memorandum opinion and order states in part:
"Meta — the company behind social media platforms Facebook and Instagram — is embroiled in several thousand lawsuits regarding the harm its platforms allegedly cause children. Most of the suits have been consolidated into two actions in California (the "Social Media Litigation"). Here in Delaware, Meta's state of incorporation, Meta's insurers seek a declaration that they owe no duty to defend Meta in the Social Media Litigation."
Other defendants and cross-complainant plaintiffs in the motion include several entities under the Chubb Limited Umbrella, including Federal Insurance Company, Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company, Westchester Fire Insurance Company and ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company.
The Hartford and Chubb jointly filed the Insurer's Motion. At least 17 other insurers are also defendants in the Delaware action, with a subset joining the Insurer's Motion.
Meta reportedly requested a stay on the action until the underlying litigation was resolved or under forum non conveniens in favor of a parallel action filed in California. Meta also reportedly moved to dismiss the insurers' action for failure to state a claim, which it argued means the insurers had conceded a potential for coverage.
The court concluded that a stay was neither required under California law nor warranted under Delaware law, and that the insurers established that the allegations in the social media litigation Meta faces do not trigger a duty to defend under the applicable insurance policies.
Ultimately, the court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss or stay, and granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment.
The allegations against Meta have come from individuals, school districts and state attorneys who say its social media platforms were intentionally designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities in youth in order to drive engagement. This, the accusers claim, leads to issues like addiction, self-harm and depression.
When presented with these claims by Meta, most of the company's insurers denied coverage, which led to a declaratory judgment in Delaware, Meta's state of incorporation.
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