Insurer Owes Duty to Defend in Toilet Wipe Property Damage Case: Takeaways From Harleysville Preferred Ins. Co. v. Dude Products, Inc.

In Harleysville Preferred Ins. Co. v. Dude Products, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois considered whether a general liability insurer had a duty to defend a putative consumer class action in which there were no specific causes of action for property damage. The court found that the insurer, Harleysville Preferred Ins. Co., had a duty to defend based on allegations of property damage in the underlying complaint that gave rise to the alleged consumer claims. In doing so, the court in this December 2022 decision touched on and reaffirmed several critical tenets of insurance coverage law.