8. Harvard sued Marsh in relation to open admissions suit loss

An insurance-related story that drew a lot of interest in 2023 had its origins in a case that resulted in a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In October, after Harvard University lost the high court case over affirmative action in its admission process, the university sued its broker, Marsh USA Inc., charging it with malpractice in not notifying excess insurers in time about a possible attorneys fee claim related to the underlying suit.

The lawsuit, President and Fellows of Harvard College v. Marsh USA Inc., filed in Massachusetts state court, was moved to U.S. District Court in Boston in December. Marsh is scheduled to respond to the complaint on Jan. 5.

The story about the lawsuit was the eighth-most-read risk management-related story on Business Insurance’s website in 2023.

The litigation followed the university’s losses in district court and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston in a lawsuit it filed against excess insurer Zurich American Insurance Co. The courts agreed Harvard had filed its claim too late.

In its lawsuit against Marsh, the university blamed the broker for the late notice, stating it had failed to provide notice of a major claim “notwithstanding its contractual and professional obligation.”

The Marsh and Zurich lawsuits stemmed from a 2014 lawsuit filed by Students for Fair Admissions in federal court alleging the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the university in June in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

No. 9 most-read story