Delaware Courts Take Narrower View of Related Claims than NY Courts

Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies typically contain clauses providing that related claims or claims arising out of interrelated wrongful acts will be treated as a single claim deemed to have been first made when the first of the related claims was asserted against the insured. The policy language defining related claims and interrelated wrongful acts is typically very broad, and courts have wrestled with how to interpret these provisions to determine whether one or more claims are, in fact, related claims. In many cases, whether there is coverage or not will hinge on this very issue. In this article, partner Howard Epstein and special counsel Theodore Keyes discuss recent Delaware case law construing related claims language.