Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

A Delaware court recently held in Mattel, Inc. and Fisher Price, Inc. v. XL Insurance America, Inc., et al., that a series of product liability claims dating back to 2013 constituted a single “occurrence” under the toy manufacturer’s and distributor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policies.

The case stemmed from Mattel’s request for defense and indemnity coverage in response to claims that certain toys caused bodily injuries to infants. The CGL coverage tower, which included policies issued by multiple primary, excess, and umbrella insurers, spanned from 2011 to 2020.

The California Privacy Protection Agency and California Attorney General recently announced the formation of a new coalition of state regulators called the Consortium of Privacy Regulators, which includes regulators from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey and Oregon.

A Delaware trial court recently applied the newly minted “meaningful linkage” standard to conclude that multiple lawsuits concerning the merger of CBS and Viacom are not “related” in the context of directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance. The decision in National Amusements, Inc. v. Endurance American Specialty Insurance Co., Case No. N22C-06-018-SKR CCLD (Del. Super. Ct. Feb. 17, 2025), illustrates the fact-intensive nature of the “relatedness” inquiry and how litigants can expect courts to examine the issues under the Delaware standard.

The trend of Delaware court decisions favoring policyholders continues with a favorable ruling in AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. v. XL Specialty Insurance Company, et al. The Delaware trial court found that AMC’s settlement payment, made in the form of AMC shares valued at $99.3 million, qualified as a covered “Loss” under its directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance policy. This ruling is noteworthy for a variety of reasons, particularly because it establishes that non-traditional forms of currency, like stock, can be a covered “Loss” under D&O policies.