This case has brought a larger legal question in Massachusetts of whether an insurance company, and under what circumstances, has a right to recoup defense costs provided to an insured.
The causes behind the social inflation theory are numerous, but one of them is that attorney advertising affects the public in unexpected ways, according to some defense lawyers.
Former MLB pitcher Clay Buchholz's purchase of a rider to cover the all-risk policy's mold exclusion doesn't cover the infestation that destroyed his mansion.
The court will decide whether insurers should be allowed to forgo updating the statute of limitation for claims in their policies if that information is included in later endorsements.
The justices were guided by a 2020 decision related to an identical policy where the court found the term "physical abuse" as used in the exclusion was ambiguous.
Even though the term "occurrence" is defined, disagreement over its meaning has led to conflicts between insurers and insureds; often resulting in litigation.
In light of the upcoming appeal, a federal judge in Camden, New Jersey, stayed proceedings in a separate business-interruption insurance case pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case.
"Here, Estep contends that his accident occurred while he was loading his car with luggage, which was part of a greater mission of returning home to Chesapeake with that luggage," Judge Frank K. Friedman wrote on behalf of the majority. "Simply put, transporting luggage is a valid and expected use of a vehicle, and one cannot transport the baggage without first packing the vehicle."