Insurance Coverage for Statutory and Liquidated Damages and Attorney Fees: Policyholder and Insurer Perspectives

Coverage of statutory damages has been a hotly disputed issue recently with the proliferation of privacy and data breach actions; statutory damages are a primary source of damages in litigation under FACTA, FCRA, TCPA and the Song-Beverly Act.

In addition to privacy-related litigation, these issues arise in many other areas of the law, particularly consumer fraud, antitrust and employment discrimination.

A related coverage issue is statutory awards of attorney fees. Are these costs recoverable as liability costs, and if so, does it matter whether they are assessed under a judgment or as part of a settlement? Similarly, are class counsel fees covered for class action claims?

Listen as our authoritative panel of insurance coverage practitioners addresses coverage issues associated with statutory and liquidated damages as well as attorney fees for opposing counsel in individual and class action claims. The panel will analyze case law developments and discuss arguments for resolving coverage issues under CGL, EPLI, D&O and E&O policies from insured and insurer perspectives.

1. Coverage for statutory damages
2. Coverage for liquidated damages
   1. Statutory damages
   2. Contractual damages
3. Coverage for attorney fees
   1. Award pursuant to judgment
   2. Paid as part of settlement
   3. Class counsel fees in class action litigation

The panel will review these and other notable questions:

• What are the most recent case law developments regarding statutory violations for data breach and privacy claims?
• What are the insurance implications for liability to pay contractual damages?
• How do courts view coverage of opposing attorney fees, particularly in class action litigation?