On January 15, 2015, at the close of all of the evidence, Judge Michael Mason of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland granted a Motion for Judgment in favor of National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., ruling that it had proven, as a matter of law, that it had been actually prejudiced by the insured’s failure to give notice for more than two-and-a-half years after it had been sued. The insured had sought coverage for an underlying RICO lawsuit under a Directors and Officers policy issued by National Union. The court found that during the period of delayed notice, findings of fact and conclusions of law had been entered in a related case involving the insured that likely would have had a preclusive effect in the RICO case or, at a minimum, would have made that case significantly more difficult and expensive to defend and settle.
The case was tried by Linda S. Woolf and Joseph B. Wolf on behalf of National Union.
