Fourth Circuit Holds General Liability Covers Defense Of Data Breach Class Action

The Fourth Circuit affirmed this week that Travelers Insurance ("Travelers") must defend Portal, a medical records company, against a class action suit stemming from an alleged cyber "publication" of its customers' personal health information. Most importantly, the court held that availability on the internet to the general public qualified as "publication," as the term is contemplated in the general liability policy Travelers provided to Portal. Courts have previously split on whether cyber breaches are covered under such commercial general liability ("CGL") policies. The holding strengthens the tenet that making any document or information available on the internet is "publication," even though internet publication is different from more traditional print media publication.