Goldberg Segalla partner and co-chair of the firm’s nationwide Global Insurance Services practice group, David L. Brown, was quoted extensively in an article published by Law360 that recaps some of the major general liability rulings from the second half of 2025.

The article, “Top General Liability Rulings From The 2nd Half Of 2025,” by Jennifer Mandato, dissects several decisions and asked notable industry leaders to help  explain their potential impact and importance moving forward.

Aearo Technologies LLC et al. v. Ace American Insurance Co. et al.

In August, the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that defense costs paid by 3M in multidistrict litigation involving the company’s combat earplugs did not satisfy the self‑insured retention (SIR) of insurance policies issued to its subsidiary, Aearo Technologies. In a 3–2 decision, the court found that because 3M was not a named insured under the relevant commercial general liability policies, its payments could not trigger coverage obligations from the insurers.

David noted this issue frequently comes up in long‑tail exposure claims because they involve the potential triggering of policies that were issued years previous.

“In many situations, by the time that the tort claim arises, the named insured has changed,” he says. “There’s been a corporate acquisition, there’s been a corporate merger, there’s been all kinds of things that have happened in the corporate world.”

While agreeing with the ruling, David says this ruling serves as a cautionary tale for companies assuming they automatically inherit an acquired entity’s insurance assets.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. v. Ascot Underwriting Ltd. et al.

In October, the Second Circuit upheld a $54 million judgment in favor of Citgo Petroleum Corp., agreeing that the loss of its oil cargo during political unrest in Venezuela fell under the “insurrection” coverage of its marine cargo reinsurance policy.

David says it is always notable when an insurance coverage case coincides with a story that is constantly in the news cycle.

“Here’s a case from the Second Circuit, a leading court addressing insurance coverage for Citgo for petroleum losses from Venezuela,” Brown says. “It’s literally an insurance coverage case and it goes along with the headlines in today’s news, so that’s always interesting.”

The court found that actions by Nicolás Maduro against the U.S.-recognized interim government of Juan Guaidó met the policy’s definition of an insurrection, and that “if the parties intended to limit the coverage inclusion to fewer or more specific instances of ‘insurrection,’ they should have done so explicitly.”

Brown says he prefers when courts “wrestle with language” instead of determining it to be ambiguous. While he does not believe that is exactly the approach the court took, he believes “insurrection” is a fairly easy term to grasp.

“I think it puts the insurance underwriters in a bit of a tough spot because that term and that phrase does not, on its face, appear to be ambiguous,” Brown says.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED): “Top General Liability Rulings From The 2nd Half Of 2025,” Law360, December 18, 2025

MORE ABOUT GOLDBERG SEGALLA’S David L. Brown:

Co-chair of the Global Insurance Services practice group, David represents insurers and insurance brokers in complex disputes throughout the country in matters involving environmental claims, construction defect claims, broker/agent issues, and directors’ and officers’ liability coverage. He has also handled very large and complex property coverage matters involving fires and other catastrophic losses, as well as product liability claims for clients in multiple industries. David is regularly called upon to represent insurers and brokers with respect to their most sensitive matters involving their business practices and their institutional interests. He is also a certified mediator and maintains an active mediation practice.

In addition to being nationally recognized as an insurance expert, David has been consistently recognized by his peers and by judges as a preeminent trial and appellate lawyer. David has tried more than 75 cases to verdict and has been lead counsel in over 50 appeals to state and federal appellate courts. Highly regarded among his colleagues, he is rated AV Preeminent—the highest possible rating—by Martindale-Hubbell.