The Covid Coverage Litigation Tracker is a multi-sourced database and dashboard through which to view the unfolding insurance litigation arising out of the pandemic in federal and state courts. Widely cited in briefs, judicial opinions, and the press, the tracker also serves as a proof of concept for new methods to identify, track, and understand emerging case congregations in real time.
CCLT dataset
CCLT contains data on insurance coverage cases related to the Covid 19 pandemic. The data collected for each coverage case include policyholder name and industry code; insurer name and AM Best number; policyholder and insurer law firms; the court in which the case is litigated; the coverage sought; the type of insurance policy and state of issue; the relevant insurance policy forms; whether class action status is sought and, if so, the alleged class or classes; and information regarding key litigation events.
Thanks to Lex Machina, the CCLT dataset contains what is believed to be close to a complete set of federal Covid coverage cases, with a delay of about two weeks from when the case is filed. State case coverage is less complete because of the limits of state court data. If you are aware of a Covid coverage case that is not included in the CCLT dataset, send an email to CCLT@law.upenn.edu. Please include the case name, court, and docket number, a copy of the complaint, and a copy of the insurance policy(ies) at issue.
Insurance Law Analytics
Insurance Law Analytics conducts empirical research on insurance litigation to inform the resolution of insurance disputes and the development of insurance law. The Covid Coverage Litigation Tracker (CCLT) is ILA’s first research project.
Tom Baker
CCLT was created by Professor Tom Baker, founder of Insurance Law Analytics. Professor Baker teaches and writes about many aspects of insurance. Before joining the Penn Law faculty, he was the inaugural Connecticut Mutual Professor and Director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut, an Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Law, and an insurance coverage litigator at the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He is the Reporter for the American Law Institute’s recently published Restatement of the Law Liability Insurance and a Cofounder of Picwell. For more information, see his Penn Law faculty webpage.
Thank you to
- The Insurance Law Center of the University of Connecticut School of Law for providing a team of UConn law students to assist with the coding.
- Michael Klausner and Jason Hegland of Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics (SSLA) for sharing their data structure and platform and providing the inspiration for CCLT.
- Alex Shor for adapting SSLA’s back and front end to meet the needs of CCLT.
- Penn Law School’s IT department for technical support.
- Courthouse News for providing their state court data.
