With business disputes becoming more contentious and commonplace, insurance companies have experienced a rise in advertising injury claims. More and more frequently, commercial insureds are finding themselves involved in business disputes related to a host of issues, such as copyright and trademark infringement, theft of trade secrets and product disparagement. Insureds that do not have specialized policies to deal with these risks are turning to the advertising injury coverage of their commercial general liability policies for coverage.
The predicates to and scope of advertising injury claims and personal injury claims vary greatly. NLdH's lawyers represent liability carriers large and small, primary and excess. We are involved in all aspects of this emerging area, from rendering coverage opinions to filing declaratory judgment actions and defending insurers in state and federal courts throughout the country.
Recent examples of our client's successes related to advertising injury matters include:
- Prevailing before the North Carolina Supreme Court in a multi-million dollar coverage dispute involving insurance coverage of false advertising, trademark infringement and other intellectual property claims. This case was cited by Mealey's as one of the top ten insurance coverage decisions in the nation in 2010.
- Obtaining a favorable ruling in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The court ruled that NLdH's client did not have to provide costs associated with the defense of its insured against trademark infringement claims litigated in the bankruptcy court.
