Excess insurer owes no duty until primary coverage is exhausted

Federal Courts

By Jay S. Judge

Jay S. Judge, a name partner of Judge, James & Kujawa LLC in Park Ridge, is a defense attorney who specializes in trials, appeals and insurance coverage. Judge graduated with honors from The John Marshall Law School and served as editor-in-chief of the school’s law review.

Posted September 30, 2014 2:38 PM

Today’s 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case addresses the duties of an excess insurer in the wake of a multimillion-dollar verdict against law enforcement officials. Kevin Fox obtained a $15.5 million civil rights judgment against five Will County detectives who arrested him in the sexual assault and murder of his 3-year-old daughter. DNA evidence cleared Fox after he had spent eight months in jail. Fox subsequently sued Will County’s first excess insurer which held a $5 million coverage policy …

To Read the Full Story

Your source for legal news and information

Print & Digital Access

Stay in the know all year long with these benefits:

Delivery to your office in downtown Chicago or mailed outside our hand-delivery zone.
Unlimited access to chicagolawbulletin.com.
Access to our e-edition and mobile site.
Breaking news alerts, Morning Lineup and Afternoon Headlines.
Exclusive access to events, discounts and more.

Order now, or call 312-644-2394 or email Subscription@LawBulletinMedia.com for details.

Be in the know. These must-read insider briefings will keep you

informed of the latest legal developments in Chicago. Sign up today!

Judge rejects ‘specific patient rule’ in case over false claims, kickbacks

Two of Allergan’s former sales representatives accused the pharmaceutical manufacturer of violating the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by using a “speaker program” to give physicians illegal payments for prescribing two of its medications — Linzess and Viberzi — but the company insisted the complaint was defective because it didn’t “identify a specific patient to whom a doctor allegedly prescribed Linzess or Viberzi in exchange for a kickback.”
By Steven P. Garmisa
Estate plans should account for effective disposition of real estate

There is a huge drop in the number of people who are drafting their estate plans since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to USA Today, only 32% of adults acknowledge that they have an up-to-date estate plan.
By Erica Minchella
LinkedIn branding for lawyers: 5 easy, effective posting options

When I started using LinkedIn back in 2007, I knew it would become the huge success story that everyone now knows it to be today.
By Steve Fretzin
Court mulls over contract with survival clause

With no local precedent on the effect of a “survival clause” on the representations and warranties in an asset purchase agreement, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals looked to scholarly commentary and decisions from other jurisdictions when deciding whether the seller was entitled to judgment on the pleadings.
By Steven P. Garmisa
Judge offers guidance for avoiding federal ‘trap’ in med-mal case

Joining a decision from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that affirmed a judgment against two “unwary litigants” who were blindsided by “surprise hurdles” created by a combined operation of the Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act, Circuit Judge Amul Thapar wrote separately “to explain how litigants can avoid these traps and preserve meritorious claims.”
By Steven P. Garmisa
Opinions shed light on how justices view shadow docket

The shadow docket has grown at the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years, especially during President Donald J. Trump’s term. In a recent decision by the court, Labrador v. Poe, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh wrote concurrences, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a dissent. They address issues of emergency applications in some detail.
By Daniel A. Cotter
Lawyer erred on personal representative after learning defendant was dead

Answering a question certified for immediate appeal in a case where the plaintiff didn’t know the defendant was dead when the lawsuit was filed, the Illinois Appellate Court concluded that the maneuver used by plaintiff’s attorney to rectify the problem — having his secretary appointed as “personal representative” of the decedent’s estate under Sec. 13-209(c) of the Code of Civil Procedure and then naming her as defendant in an amended complaint — was the wrong move.
By Steven P. Garmisa
High court says judge erred in trying to ‘rehabilitate’ juror

Guided by the principle that the purpose of voir dire is “investigation, not persuasion” — and bolstered by scholarly commentary that included a 2023 Chicago-Kent Law Review article — the Oregon Supreme Court critiqued a judge’s efforts to “rehabilitate” a prospective juror.
By Steven P. Garmisa