Glossary

A cross-defendant is the party named as a defendant in the cross-complaint.

Cross-docking is a warehouse's value-added service that assigns the responsibility for taking in shipments from one carrier and rerouting them quickly to another means of transport that carries the property on the next leg of its route.

A cross-indemnity agreement is a form of indemnity that is often used in energy industry and chemical industry contracts. Under cross-indemnity agreements, the indemnification obligation is reciprocal in nature, regardless of fault. Each party obligates itself to indemnify the other for liabilities arising out of each other's acts or omissions.

Cross-liability coverage is coverage in connection with a suit brought against an insured by another party that has insured status under the same policy. Cross-liability coverage is provided as an intrinsic feature of the standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy by means of the "separation of insureds" condition. Some umbrella and professional liability policies contain insured-versus-insured exclusions that eliminate cross-liability coverage.

A cross-liability endorsement is an endorsement that alters or clarifies the application of a liability policy to cross-liability claims. A cross-liability endorsement is most commonly intended to mean an endorsement that provides cross-liability coverage. The term should be used with caution, as the original cross-liability endorsements were exclusions that deleted this coverage.

Cross purchase refers to a form of business life insurance in which each member of a group purchases insurance on the other members of the group to ensure continuance of the business in the event one of the principals becomes disabled or dies.

Crowdfunding is a process that uses the Internet and related social media to offer a company's stock to investors. This approach represents a dramatic departure from traditional methods of funding business startups (such as having an investment bank offer shares of the company to investors). In April 2012, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. The Act's intent is to make it easier for "emerging growth companies" (EGCs), defined as firms with $1 billion or less in annual revenues, to raise capital via crowdfunding and to facilitate initial public offerings (IPOs). Recognizing the potential for fraud by unscrupulous "boiler room" operators, the Act limits companies to raising (1) $1 million a year or (2) $2 million if they provide investors with audited financial statements. In addition, no individual purchaser can invest more than $10,000 or, if a lesser amount, 10 percent of their annual income. The bill also requires the company to provide (1) various warnings to investors and (2) a filing about the crowdfunding offer to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Cumis counsel is legal council selected by an insured rather than the insurer to represent the insured in a liability suit. The 1984 California Court of Appeals decision in San Diego Fed. Credit Union v. Cumis Ins. Soc'y, Inc., 162 Cal. App. 3d 358, 208 Cal. Rptr. 494 (4th Dist. 1984), held that where an insurer is defending under a reservation of rights, a conflict of interest exists between the economic and litigation interest of the insurer and the insured. Under these circumstances, the traditional right of the insurer to select counsel and control the defense effort is lost. As a result, the insured selects counsel and controls the defense, but the insurer must pay the defense costs. Such counsel, selected and controlled by the insured at the expense of the insurer, is known as Cumis counsel.

Cumulative collusive excess cover refers to a reinsurance contract under which the ceding company further reduces its net exposure that has been reinsured under a share agreement.

Cumulative injury is a type of workers injury that arises from the repetition of mentally or physically traumatic job tasks over an extended length of time. Examples are carpal tunnel syndrome and hearing loss.