⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Seventh Circuit hears TK Elevator challenge Church Mutual over who must defend it in lawsuits arising from an elevator accident. An employee at an Illinois senior-living facility alleged that she was injured when an elevator fell while she was riding it. She sued the elevator maintenance company, TK Elevator. The maintenance contract called for the property's insurance to cover TK first, without drawing on the company's own insurance. But TK was not named on Church Mutual's primary liability policy. It qualified for coverage under Church Mutual's umbrella policy, which generally sits above other insurance. TK also had coverage from HDI. The district judge held that the remaining HDI coverage had to be exhausted before Church Mutual had a duty to defend TK. The company's lawyer will argue that an endorsement in the HDI policy, read with the maintenance agreement, reverses that order and puts Church Mutual first. Church Mutual's lawyer will argue that a promise to obtain insurance does not rewrite its policy, and that HDI was not specifically made excess to this umbrella. Listen for the difference between a promise to buy coverage and the coverage an insurer actually issued. This appeal concerns the order of insurance coverage, not whether TK caused the accident.

TK Elevator v. Church Mutual (No. 26-1299) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued November 4, 2026.