Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

In football as in life, the best defense is often a good offense. But, that adage does not always play well in litigation. In Riddell, Inc. v. Superior Court, No. B275482, 2017 WL 3614305 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 23, 2017), the California Court of Appeal blew the whistle on such a tactic, holding that an insurer could not use discovery tools in a coverage dispute with its policyholder in order to prejudice the policyholder's defense in an underlying lawsuit.

A federal judge has ordered an insurer to show cause why he should refrain from dismissing the insurer's case against an NCAA football conference over the availability of insurance for concussion-related lawsuits. Back in May, Great American Assurance Company filed a complaint against Conference USA, seeking a declaration that it need not defend or indemnify the conference against a lawsuit brought by a former football player. In the underlying lawsuit, the former player alleged that he suffered neurodegenerative disorders and diseases, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy ("CTE"), Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, mood swings, headaches, and anxiety stemming from repeated concussive brain impacts he sustained while playing for the University of Louisville. In the coverage action, Great American argues that a Limited Event Coverage endorsement added to Conference USA's policies did not include football as a covered event and therefore the policies do not provide coverage for "bodily injury" arising from football.