11th Circuit Reversal Upholds Insurer's Exclusion of Coverage as to Personal Injury
Members of Butler Snow's Commercial Litigation Group participated in a trial in federal court in Mobile where an insurer was being sued for bad faith in the denial of a claim for indemnity resulting from a judgment rendered against its insured for slander. The trial court had previously granted summary judgment for the insured against the insurer for breach of contract finding that the exclusion in which the insurer based its denial was ambiguous and therefore not a proper denial. A trial proceeded as to the bad faith and resulted in a verdict for the insurer. On appeal of the earlier ruling on the breach of contract, the 11 th Circuit reversed and rendered judgment in favor of the insurer finding that its exclusion of coverage as to personal injury caused by slander was not ambiguous or illusory. Members of defense team were Michael B. Beers and Angela Taylor Baker.
Intellectual Property
Butler Snow recently obtained a favorable decision from the Mississippi Court of Appeals holding that the trial court had personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant who entered into a non-disclosure agreement with a Mississippi company and client of Butler Snow. As Mississippi and the nation increase its knowledge-based industry (rather than traditional manufacturing), courts are recognizing that creating intellectual property is akin to creating traditional hard goods. The decision appears to be the first instance in which a Mississippi court has explicitly stated that intellectual property is a good or service which in turn allows jurisdiction to be exercised based on a non-disclosure agreement. Butler Snow attorneys Frank M. Holbrook and Paul M. Ellis successfully handled the appeal.