By William Rabb | January 18, 2023
Two insurance carriers have no duty to defend or to indemnify Quest Pharmaceuticals in lawsuits brought over the drug distributor’s role in the opioid crisis, a federal appeals court decided last week. The opinion could bolster U.S. insurers’ arguments that they should not be held liable in the multi-billion-dollar opioid litigation churning through courts across the country.
In a decision handed down Friday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that policies written by Westfield National Insurance Co. and Motorists Mutual Insurance Co. covered only damages resulting from bodily injuries, not the economic damages sought by local and state governments.
The carriers had asked a lower court to declare that their general liability and umbrella policies did not require that they defend Quest in the opioid lawsuits. A federal district court in Kentucky agreed, and the appeals court upheld the lower court.
The judges noted that they had to apply Kentucky law and review the case through the eyes of the state’s high court.… read more > “Insurers Do Not Have to Defend in Opioid Litigation, Federal Appeals Court Finds”