In Law360, Gregg Weiner Examines Contract Exclusion Issue in Shareholder Agreements Dispute

In The News
March 25, 2024

In a Law360 article, litigation & enforcement partner and practice co-chair Gregg Weiner discussed a New York federal court ruling that a contract exclusion barred any duty a Liberty Mutual insurance unit had to defend propane company Paraco Gas Corp. and two of its executives in a family shareholder dispute.

In the dispute regarding the allegation of improperly transferred Class A and non-voting Class B shares to family trusts that violated the corresponding Class A and B shareholder agreements, Gregg explains that courts must read exclusions narrowly when assessing an insurer’s duty to defend.

But courts still read exclusions with "arising out of" language more broadly than exclusions that bar coverage "for" certain claims, Gregg said.