In United States Liab. Ins. Co. v. Kelley Ventures, LLC, 137 F. Supp. 3d 1312 (S.D. Fla. 2015), a federal court told me a lot about an exclusion with which I just was not familiar before I read this case, which includes the "pending or prior litigation exclusion."
The court's education on this little-known exclusion is short and to the point:
Pending or Prior Litigation Exclusion
As a matter of law, USLI is relieved of its duty to defend under the Pending or Prior Litigation Exclusion. This Policy provision excludes from coverage, in relevant part, “[a]ny pending or prior ... claim [or] demand ... of which an Insured had written notice before the inception date of this Policy.” DE 1–5. Unlike the Policy application itself, the Pending or Prior Litigation Exclusion is not qualified by the Insured's “knowledge and belief.” Rather, it simply excludes from coverage a claim or demand in writing that the insured received before the Policy coverage began.
United States Liab. Ins. Co. v. Kelley Ventures, LLC, 137 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 1318 (S.D. Fla. 2015).
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