Calfee Insurance Coverage Attorney Tae Andrews Quoted in Law360 Insurance Authority Article “SL Policyholders Gifted Court, Underwriting Wins In 2024”

Calfee Insurance Coverage Practice attorney Tae Andrews was quoted in the December 5, 2024, Law360 Insurance Authority article, "SL Policyholders Gifted Court, Underwriting Wins In 2024." The article reviewed several victories for specialty lines policyholders in 2024, including favorable court rulings regarding cyber and directors and officers (D&O) coverage matters, eased cyberinsurance pricing, and clearer terms from insurers.

Tae Andrews commented on SXSW, L.L.C. v. Federal Insurance Co., in which the Fifth Circuit found that insurers for the organizers of the March 2020 South by Southwest festival in Texas owed defense costs for a class action case brought by ticketholders who were not refunded for the canceled event. The three-judge panel rejected the insurer's argument that the claims fell under the contract exclusion clause and also rejected the defendant's reliance on the professional services exclusion. Tae stated, "'That's a very significant decision because the court is strictly construing the exclusion to assist the insured, which is very helpful for policyholders and keeping the insurers to that standard, which is again a very important canon of construction. ... It's exciting and encouraging to me to see this trend of courts properly applying, not only the professional service exclusions, but it's their method for doing so,' he said, adding that reading the exclusion as broadly as insurers proposed would swallow up much of the coverage."

Tae is an experienced member of Calfee's Insurance Coverage practice, where he advises corporate insurance policyholders in multiple industries and litigates complex insurance disputes in both state and federal courts. He joined Calfee in September from a premier U.S. insurance recovery boutique law firm.

Read the full Law360 Insurance Authority article.

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