Civil Procedure › Business Torts › Personal Injury

Missouri Court of Appeals Joins Majority of Federal Courts in Holding the Prohibition Against Evidence of Subsequent Remedial...

In a matter of first impression, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District has held the exclusionary rule barring evidence of subsequent remedial measures does not apply when the remedial measure was implemented...more

The Illinois Supreme Court 2012: The Year in Review

During 2012, the Illinois Supreme Court filed seventy-one written opinions, thirty-nine in civil cases. Although the total opinion output was down somewhat from recent years, this represents the Court's highest number of...more

In re Canopy Financial, Inc.: A Primer From the Seventh Circuit on Excusable Neglect

What is “excusable neglect” under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1)? The answer is that it depends, but generally it’s not much. That’s the first lesson from the Seventh Circuit’s recent decision in In re Canopy Financial, Inc., No....more

Punitive Damages Exception Recognized to General Rule Precluding Direct Liability Against Employers who Admit Vicarious Liability...

The Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri has answered in the affirmative a question left open by the Missouri Supreme Court almost two decades ago: whether a claim for punitive damages can in fact serve as an...more

Defrauding Facebook: How One Man Almost Stole The World’s Largest Social Network

In October 2012 Paul Ceglia of New York was arrested on charges he forged documents in a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Ceglia had brought a much publicized lawsuit...more

Finding Bad Faith in Kentucky Requires Evidence of Outrageous Conduct By Insurer

In its recent decision in Powell v. Cherokee Insurance Company, Case No.: 5:09-CV-00205, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky reaffirmed that in a third-party bad faith lawsuit alleging failure to...more

Raising Expert Testimony Standards

We previously reported on Sargon Enterprises v. Univ. of Southern California (November 26, 2012) in which the California Supreme Court made clear that expert testimony regarding lost profits may not succeed if it is too...more

Legal Byte: Objecting to your own discovery responses?

Legal Byte: Objecting to your own discovery responses? Can a person, after he/she has provided responses to discovery under oath, object to his/her own responses as vague and ambiguous? ...more

Ninth Circuit Holds That Interpleader Does Not Shield Insurer From Independent Tort Liability

The Ninth Circuit recently joined its sister circuits to find that the federal interpleader remedy does not limit an insurer's independent tort liability for damages directly and proximately caused by its conduct. Lee v. West...more

Weekly Law Resume - July 12, 2012: Insurance Bad Faith – Refusal to Make Settlement Offer

Yan Fang Du, et al. v. Allstate Insurance Company, et al. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (June 11, 2012) California courts are unclear on whether an insurer may be liable for bad faith unreasonable...more

Insurers Can’t Wait Around for Settlement Offer If Liability Is Clear (the Ninth Circuit Addresses Bad Faith, part 1)

When the liability of its insured is clear, must an insurer proactively attempt to settle a claim within policy limits in order to avoid bad faith liability? Or is it sufficient to wait until a reasonable settlement offer is...more

Bad Faith Sentinel - June 2012

In This Issue: - Court of Appeals of Florida Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Insurer on Bad Faith Failure To Settle Claim pages 1 - 2 - Illinois Court of Appeals Discusses Importance of Notice to the Insured...more

Director May Pursue Malicious Prosecution Claims Against Plaintiffs’ Attorneys

Lawsuits against directors can seem very one-sided with the plaintiffs starting at bat and never having to take to the field to play defense. This may be changing as a result of a very significant decision issued last Friday...more

Credit Rating Agencies’ Opinions Are Not Immune

Recently, U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, Southern District of New York, rejected the contentions of Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and several ratings agencies, including Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, that credit...more

Six Reasons to Hire Personal Counsel

Many small to medium-sized business purchase commercial general liability insurance or some other type of business insurance to protect the business against claims or lawsuits. In exchange for premium payments by the...more

Weekly Law Resume - April 26, 2012: Anti-SLAPP Attack to a Malicious Prosecution Action

Darin Johnson v. Ralph’s Grocery Company, et al. Court of Appeal, Fourth District (March 20, 2012) This case concerns two pre-answer challenges a defendant can make to the legal sufficiency of a plaintiff’s complaint:...more

Summary Judgment May Not Be Granted In Elder Abuse Case When A Complete Defense Has Not Been Established

In Knox v. Dean (--- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, Cal.App. 4 Dist., April 24, 2012), a California Court of Appeal considered whether summary judgment in an elder abuse charge against a conservator of an elderly man was correct. The...more

NEW LAW CHANGES RULE GOVERNING REMOVAL OF MATTER FROM STATE COURT TO FEDERAL COURT

On January 6, 2012, the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act (“Act”) of 2011 , came into effect. The Act as a whole brought changes to Federal statues affecting venue, removal and jurisdiction. The...more

APPELLATE DIVISION HOLDS THAT LIABILITY POLICY OF TENANT DOES NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR LANDLORD AND ITS REAL ESTATE MANAGER

The Appellate Division in Cambria v. Two JFK BLV, LLC, et. al. (423 N.J. Super 499) was called upon to determine whether the trial court properly found that the landlord and its real estate manager were additional insured...more

APPELLATE DIVISION HOLDS THAT PLAINTIFF’S LACK OF DUE DILIGENCE BARS REPLACING ‘JOHN DOE’ DEFENDANT WITH ACTUAL PARTY

The Appellate Division has held in Andreoli v. State Insulation Corp. et. al. (2011 WL 4577646) that a plaintiff could not replace a “John Doe” defendant with an actual party due to a lack of due diligence in identifying that...more

Faitro v. Top Surgeons et al.

Demurrer to First Amended Complaint

Defendants' demurrer to the First Amended Complaint's UCL, FAL and CLRA causes of action based on failure to plead reliance, and failure to plead requisite damages sufficient to confer standing under Simpson Strong Tie v....more

Faitro v. Top Surgeons et al.

Defendants' Petition to Compel Arbitration

Defendants filed their petition to compel individual arbitration of the putative class action claims pursuant to the United Supreme Court's ruling in Concepcion v. ATT. Briefing schedule and hearing date to be set by the...more

"Infected" Tissue Claim Not A Consumer Fraud Claim

Readers have seen my warnings about plaintiff attorneys trying to turn every marketing statement of opinion or puffing into a consumer fraud claim. Now comes a decision about a non-consumer product consumer fraud claim. A...more

Illustration Disclosures Lead to Dismissal of Universal Life Insurance Class Action

On October 13, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld an Oklahoma District Court’s dismissal on summary judgment of a putative class action on behalf of all purchasers of universal life insurance...more

Media Distorts Perceptions of Personal Injury

The media help perpetuate the public's perception and misconception regarding personal injury lawsuits. If fair and balanced reporting was followed, the public would learn the vast majority of personal injury lawsuits aren't...more