Sixth Circuit Affirms Insurance Coverage Ruling in Favor of The J.M. Smucker Co.

Calfee congratulates our client, The J.M. Smucker Co., on a favorable ruling issued July 1, 2026, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in an insurance coverage dispute that centered on the interpretation and application of key policy language and Ohio insurance common law.

Calfee was pleased to represent The J.M. Smucker Co. as co-counsel in this matter. The Calfee legal team included Partners Matthew A. Chiricosta, Fritz E. Berckmueller, and K. James Sullivan. Calfee served as Ohio counsel alongside K&L Gates LLP.

Read the Sixth Circuit opinion here.

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Calfee’s Insurance Coverage practice group serves corporate insurance policyholder clients in Ohio and nationwide. The team’s principal purpose for nearly 40 years has been to help clients protect against and mitigate risk through the use of insurance. Calfee attorneys collaborate with and counsel clients on all aspects of their insurance coverage legal needs. The team assists clients with the placement and enhancement of their insurance policies, reviews of their existing policies, shaping and pursuing claims to get losses paid by their insurance companies, negotiating resolutions to disputed insurance claims, litigating coverage lawsuits against their insurers, and finding solutions for insurance coverage issues in corporate M&A deals. The practice has experience with a wide array of policy types, from newer products such as cyber and M&A representations and warranties insurance, to more traditional policy forms such as commercial general liability (CGL), umbrella, excess, property, D&O, professional liability, and EPL policies, to more specialized policies such as builder’s risk, liquor, and aviation.

Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP is a full-service corporate law firm with 160 attorneys and professionals in offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Calfee serves clients in the Midwest, nationally and globally in the areas of Corporate and Finance, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Energy and Utilities, Estate and Succession Planning and Administration, Government Relations and Legislation, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate Law. Calfee has been recognized as a leading law firm by Chambers USA 2026 in Antitrust, Banking & Finance, Construction, Corporate/M&A, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Government Relations, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Litigation: General Commercial, Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, Public Finance, and Real Estate, and by Chambers HNW 2025 in Private Wealth Law. A founding member of Lex Mundi, Calfee offers international representation through a network of independent law firms with access to 22,000 attorneys located in more than 125 countries. Additional information is available at Calfee.com.