On March 3, 2021, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in
RSUI Indemnity Company v. David H. Murdock & Dole Food Company that affirmed all of the trial court’s pro-insured coverage rulings relating to choice of law, insurability of fraud-based claims and allocation between covered and non-covered losses. This decision resolves several frequently debated coverage disputes in the directors and officers (D&O) insurance context. Insurers of Delaware corporations must take heed of this outcome, and consider revisiting policy forms as the D&O insurance market continues to harden.
Choice of Law Favors Delaware for Claims against Fiduciaries of Delaware Corporations