Consent to Settlement? Insurers May Need to Get It, Too
A Northern District of Illinois judge ruled that an insurer breached its professional liability policy by settling a claim against an individual employee without obtaining the consulting firm’s consent. The policy’s consent‑to‑settlement clause used the ambiguous pronoun “you,” which the court interpreted to require the named insured’s approval as well as the individual’s. The insurer had accepted a $1 million settlement for the employee, leaving the firm exposed to a $780,000 judgment. The decision highlights the contractual duties insurers may owe policyholders during claim administration.
Cybersecurity-Related Securities Suit Hits Cloud Data Storage Company
A securities class action was filed on May 22, 2026 against Snowflake, accusing the cloud data‑storage firm of failing to disclose cybersecurity weaknesses that left major customers vulnerable to data breaches. The complaint alleges Snowflake’s system architecture limited multi‑factor authentication...
New Jersey Supreme Court Affirms Broad Reading of D&O “Capacity” Exclusion
On May 11, 2026 the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed a broad reading of the D&O policy capacity exclusion, holding that any overlap between an individual’s insured and uninsured roles triggers the exclusion. The court rejected the narrower dual‑capacity argument,...
Rare Securities Suit Trial Results in Defense Verdict in ExxonMobil Case
On May 14, 2026 a federal jury returned a complete defense verdict in the long‑running ExxonMobil securities class action, clearing the oil giant and its executives of all claims. The case, filed in 2016, alleged misrepresentations about the profitability of...
A Second Wave of Tariff Recovery Litigation and Expanding D&O Risk
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, opening a refund process for importers. A newly filed class action against Sony Interactive Entertainment alleges the company kept higher consumer prices while also seeking tariff...
Guest Post: Middle East D&O Claims Exposures in a Time of Tension
The guest post by Shabnam Karim and Simon Lamb of Norton Rose Fulbright explains how the ongoing Iran‑related conflict is reshaping directors‑and‑officers (D&O) liability across the Middle East. They highlight supply‑chain disruptions, share‑price volatility, insurance gaps, economic distress, cyber attacks...
Yet Another Private Credit Firm Hit With Securities Suit
FS KKR Capital Corp., a publicly traded business development company that makes private, non‑bank loans, was hit with a securities class‑action filed on May 4, 2026. The complaint alleges the firm overstated the value of its loan portfolio, exaggerated the success of...
Recent Jarkesy Developments and D&O Impact
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2024 Jarkesy decision, which granted jury‑trial rights for SEC civil‑penalty actions, is now sparking state‑level challenges to administrative enforcement. In Delaware, Swan Energy argues that the Investor Protection Unit’s in‑house penalties of roughly $710,000 must...
Del. Court: SEC Disgorgement Not a “Penalty” For Which Coverage Is Barred
On April 28, 2026, the Delaware Superior Court held that the disgorgement and prejudgment interest ordered against Clear Channel in an SEC settlement are not “penalties” excluded by the D&O policy’s civil‑penalties clause. The judge found the policy’s loss definition...
Rare Securities Class Action Lawsuit Trial Results in Defense Verdict
A federal jury in the Northern District of California found hedge fund Armistice Capital and its executives not liable for insider trading or a pump‑and‑dump scheme tied to the sale of roughly $200 million of Vaxart stock during the COVID‑19 pandemic....
Blue Owl and the Growing D&O and E&O Risks in Private Credit
Blue Owl Capital Corp. is confronting a wave of securities class actions and a derivative lawsuit that allege it concealed liquidity pressures and inflated valuations of its private‑credit funds. The suits claim the firm’s adviser doubled as the valuation designee,...
QVC’s Chapter 11 Filing and the Continuing D&O Coverage Challenges in Bankruptcy
QVC Group, Inc. filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 petition in April 2026, citing declining TV viewership, rising costs and heavy leverage. The restructuring plan includes up to $300 million of debtor‑in‑possession financing and $281 million of letters of credit, up from $108 million a year...
AI-Related IP Litigation Triggers Follow-On D&O Lawsuit
Adobe’s board faces a new shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging that the company trained its SlimLM AI models on pirated datasets, including the Books3 and Common Crawl collections, violating copyright law. The complaint claims the directors acted in bad faith, leading...
Debanking, Crypto, and the Next Wave of D&O Exposure
Federal regulators, led by the OCC and FDIC, are eliminating “reputation risk” from bank supervision following the 2025 “Guaranteeing Fair Banking” executive order. The new guidance forces banks to base service decisions on measurable credit, liquidity, operational and legal risks,...
Peloton SCA Dismissed: Product Safety Allegations and D&O Exposure
Peloton Interactive successfully had a securities class action alleging product‑safety misstatements dismissed by the Eastern District of New York. The plaintiffs claimed the company concealed defects in bike seat posts and misled investors about recall exposure, but the court found...