Larry Golub Reacts to Ninth Circuit TCPA/D&O Insurance Coverage Decision

Larry Golub commented in a Law360 article on the decision by a Ninth Circuit panel finding that a common invasion-of-privacy exclusion in a D&O policy barred coverage for a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suit. In Los Angeles Lakers Inc. v. Federal Insurance Co., the basketball team had accused its insurer of refusing in bad faith to defend or indemnify the Lakers in a TCPA lawsuit under its D&O policy. A Ninth Circuit panel found that the policy's invasion-of-privacy exclusion precluded coverage because a TCPA violation allegation is necessarily a claim for invasion of privacy.

Golub said the court's decision was a "relatively straightforward coverage determination" in a case involving a broad 'arising out of' policy exclusion and a complaint alleging invasion of privacy. "It's hard to avoid the fact that the focus of the TCPA is invasion of privacy," noted Golub.

Read the full Law360 article (subscription required)

Read the court's opinion (PDF)

"Lakers' Loss Gives Insurers Edge in TCPA Coverage Fights" was published by Law360, August 24, 2017.