First Circuit Holds Related Claims Provision Bars Coverage For Later Discrimination Suit

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, applying New Hampshire law, held that a Related Claims provision in an employment practices liability policy barred coverage for an employment discrimination lawsuit because an administrative complaint was first made before the Policy Period. Urena v. Travelers Casualty & Sur. Co. of Am., 2026 WL 2322160 (1st Cir. Aug. 11, 2026). The court found that the Related Claims provision in the policy’s General Terms and Conditions applied to EPL claims.

A former employee filed an administrative complaint alleging sex- and pregnancy-based discrimination and retaliation. The employer received notice of the complaint before the EPL Policy Period began. After the administrative complaint was dismissed, the employee filed a federal employment discrimination lawsuit during the Policy Period, obtained a default judgment, and sought satisfaction of the judgment from the employer’s EPL insurer.