Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog

Still feeling the love from Valentine’s Day, this 2024 Year in Review highlights the most swoon-worthy coverage decisions of 2024 and offers a glimpse of the future of insurance coverage litigation in 2025 and beyond.

In 2024, D&O coverage and core insurance law principles were the true heartthrobs of the year, while rulings on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues showed that insurance disputes can arise in any situation. But the real cupid’s arrow? Policy interpretation—still the key to unlocking these cases. As we reflect on the year, this edition of our Year in Review highlights the most love-worthy coverage decisions of 2024 and examines the evolving landscape of insurance coverage litigation heading into 2025.

Last week, the Ninth Circuit affirmed fraud convictions for Theranos’ former CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, and former COO, Ramesh Balwani, upholding an order finding both defendants personally liable for $452 million in restitution to various Theranos investors. While it remains to be seen whether the embattled executives will pursue further appeals to the US Supreme Court, the years of litigation and appeals following Theranos’s untimely demise in 2018 highlight the importance of directors and officers having robust “final adjudication” language in conduct exclusions found in all D&O liability policies.