'Duty to Defend Opioid Distributors and Retailers Under Comprehensive General Liability Policies,' by Robert M. Hall

[Editor's note: Mr. Hall spent twenty years as in-house counsel for various insurers and reinsurers, most recently as senior vice president and general counsel of a major reinsurer. He is a former partner of a leading law firm and currently is an ARIAS-certified arbitrator and umpire, an expert witness and a frequent author whose articles can be found on his website: robertmhalladr.com. Copyright by the author 2023.]

I. Introduction

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lawsuits have filed by governmental entities against distributors and retailers of opioids to recover expenses of such entities related to the opioid crisis. Many, if not most, …