Recent Court Wins

Insurance Coverage Litigation

 Defective Phone System Is Not “Property Damage”

Steven E. Leder obtained summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on April 14, 2004 . The Leder Law Group, LLC represented a national insurer in an insurance coverage action concerning whether a defective telephone system sold by the insured constituted “property damage” under a commercial general liability policy. Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company et al v. ALT Communications, Inc. et al. 3:05-cv-800

Fellow Employee Exclusion Valid Over Minimum Limits

Steven E. Leder and Katherine D. Bainbridge successfully obtained an affirmance in an insurance coverage case on certiorari to the Maryland Court of Appeals in Taylor F. Wilson v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, No. 22, September Term, 2006 on November 14, 2006 . The Court upheld the validity of step-down provisions for fellow employees in business auto policies. Business Auto Policies that provide minimum limits to fellow employees and higher limits to the employer are valid and enforceable. This decision extended to fellow employee claims the Court’s ruling in Stearman v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 381 Md. 436 (2004) concerning the “Household Exclusion”. Wilson v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., --- A.2d ----, 2006 WL 3280790. See Daily Record November 20, 2006 for an article discussing the case.

Additional Insured Not Covered For Own Negligence

Steven E. Leder and Katherine D. Bainbridge obtained summary judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of a national insurer in an insurance coverage action against the insurer by an additional insured under a CGL policy. The court held that a blanket additional insured endorsement did not cover the additional insured for its own negligence. Bituminous Cas. Corp. v. Nelcorp Co. of Md . MJG 05 CV 910