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Article 2022-07-29
Is a declaratory judgment counterclaim a mirror-image of the plaintiff’s complaint for declaratory judgment or redundant of defendants’ answer and affirmative defenses to the plaintiff’s complaint? Insurers should consider this question when either asserting a counterclaim in a declaratory judgment action or moving to dismiss a counterclaim raised by a policyholder in a declaratory judgment action.
Article 2022-06-15
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the Bellefonte Rule, which reinsurers relied upon to cap liability under certificates of facultative reinsurance for indemnity and expense.
Article 2022-06-15
It is a frequent situation. A contractor obtains a liability policy from an insurer. Down the road, a construction defect claim is asserted, and suit is brought against the contractor. By this point the contractor is no longer in business, with no known valid address, and all reasonable efforts at service of process on the contractor fail. The claimant then moves for substituted service on the contractor’s insurer. Even if the insurer files an objection to the motion for substituted service, the court may focus only on the diligence of the claimant’s efforts to serve the contractor and grant the motion. The insurer is now in the lawsuit.
Article 2022-06-10
In 2021, Governor Pritzker signed into law SB 0072, which represented an amendment to the Illinois Prejudgment Interest Statute, 735 ILCS 5/2-1303. The relevant part of the Amendment provides, “In all actions brought to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death resulting from or occasioned by the conduct of any other person or entity, the plaintiff shall recover prejudgment interest on all damages, except punitive damages, sanctions, statutory attorney’s fees and statutory costs.”
Article 2022-06-10
When one receives surgery, it is common to receive a separate invoice from the physician and the facility. The physician bills for performing the surgery, and the facility bills for providing the products and services necessary for the surgery to be performed. The latter is known as a “facility fee,” which often includes the operating room, drugs, diagnostic tests, scalpels, electrodes, etc.
Article 2022-06-09
The Grieving Family’s Act has passed through the New York Senate and is now set to become law. The amendments to a nearly one hundred and fifty year statute brings significant changes that are likely to increase case value for defendants and their insurance carriers. The key takeaways from the passed bill and what will certainly be a subject of future litigation is discussed in our article.
Article 2022-06-02
In its simplest form, a plaintiff who voluntarily participates in a sporting or recreational event is considered to have consented to those commonly-appreciated risks that are inherent in and arise from participating in the activity. Primary assumption of risk has been applied to a multitude of sporting and recreational activities, including football, baseball, softball, stickball, basketball, martial arts, paintball, weightlifting, and go-cart riding, among others. However, the defense has routinely been limited to cases involving athletic or recreational activities sponsored or enabled by defendants.
Article 2022-06-02
A staple of personal injury litigation in the United States concerns the gathering and exchange of a plaintiff’s medical records through the discovery process. These records are often critical to defendants and must be reviewed by their retained experts to determine the extent of injuries and damages plaintiff may be able to prove at trial. Since the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the process for obtaining medical records in the United States has become more streamlined. HIPAA requires that most health care providers provide access to protected health information upon a patient’s request. But what happens when a plaintiff in a lawsuit has received medical diagnoses or treatment outside of the United States?
Article 2022-05-25
Insurers and consumers alike are seeing the emergence of cryptocurrency in their daily lives. As increasing numbers of companies worldwide begin using bitcoin and other digital assets for a host of investment, operational, and transactional purposes, it raises an important question: How is cryptocurrency defined for the purposes of insurance coverage?
Article 2022-03-31
The use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) has exploded in recent years. SPACs are an increasingly popular way for private companies to become publicly traded without undergoing a traditional initial public offering.
