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Trends In Litigation Management For The Insurance Industry

Collaborative technology, process improvement strategies and predictive analytics are some of the areas seen as offering potential for improving insurance litigation management, according to an article in the Spring 2013...more

How To Hire Outside Counsel For Your Company

Hiring outside legal counsel is an important decision for any company. Outside counsel may be needed to guide the business on an ongoing basis; or the business could be looking for an attorney to handle a single transaction...more

Disclosing Lawsuits To Buyers Of Residential Property

Sellers of existing residential property are required by California law to make various disclosures to a prospective buyer. [See generally Disclosures In Real Property Transactions, published by the California Department of...more

Manage and Control Litigation Costs By Acknowledging Realities

Managing litigation effectively, including controlling legal costs, especially litigation costs, is important for business owners, small and large. A recent article in InsideCounsel suggests that an important part of...more

Can an Intervening Insurance Company Sue for Breach of Contract?

If a party in litigation has a default judgment entered against it, can its insurance company still file a motion to intervene and use the same defenses that would have been available to the insured if not procedurally barred...more

Contribution Between Insurance Carriers And The Duty To Defend

In St. Paul Mercury Insurance v. Mountain West Farm Bureau, 210 Cal. App. 4th 645 (10/25/12), the California Court of Appeal addressed the duty of an insurance carrier to defend a general contractor named as an additional...more

Recent Insurance Coverage Decisions Of Note In California

California Courts handed down some interesting decisions re insurance coverage during the fourth quarter of 2012: St. Paul Mercury Insurance v. Mountain West Farm Bureau (10/25/12) In an equitable contribution action, an...more

Indemnity Prohibition

On January 1, 2013, new rules governing indemnification in construction contracts went into effect under SB 474 in California. The new law impacts commercial real estate, and public and residential projects. The big picture...more

Business Interruption Insurance

Business Interruption Insurance Business Interruption Insurance (“BII”) is a form of commercial insurance coverage that provides limited but useful protection when a business is unable to continue normal operations or occupy...more

California Civil Depositions Limited To Seven Hours Under New Law

Some attorneys are known for being long-winded time wasters who act with little regard for efficiency, especially when billing at an hourly rate. Although we believe the length of a deposition is often dictated by the...more

Trial Tactics for Insurance and Corporate Defense Cases

Insurance companies and corporate defendants often begin a lawsuit at a disadvantage due to the mere fact that they are being sued by a plaintiff who alleges to have been injured and/or damaged. It is therefore crucial to...more

Litigation Management: A Win-Win

Using tools and strategies to effectively and intelligently proceed a case through the litigation process, based on the goals and expectations of a specific client, is an important part of effective legal representation. This...more

Daubert Standard For Expert Testimony Almost Applied In California

The standard for admitting expert scientific testimony in a federal trial under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was established in the case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical (US Supreme Court, 6/28/93), then...more

Bad Faith Sentinel - April 2013

In This Issue: - Western District Of Washington: Denial of a Defense Where Additional-Insured Status Was Arguable, and Doing So in Reliance on Extrinsic Evidence, Were Both Acts of Bad Faith - New York Court...more

Insurers: Does Your Policy Contain a Broadly Worded EIFS Exclusion? If You’re in Washington, You Might Be in Luck!

Recently, Washington courts have issued a number of opinions resolving a variety of issues against insurers. For instance, the Washington Supreme Court presumed that there is no attorney-client privilege in a bad-faith suit...more

Indiana Court of Appeals Upholds $14.5 Million Defamation Verdict

This week we discuss the Indiana Court of Appeals decision State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Radcliff that upheld one of the largest verdicts – $14.5 million – ever obtained in a defamation case in United States history....more

Missouri Supreme Court Confirms That A Defendant Need Not Plead Its Liability To Plaintiff In A Third-Party Claim For Contribution

For more than 35 years Missouri defendants have been filing third-party claims for contribution against other potentially liable persons or entities not sued directly by the plaintiff. But for 33 of those years defendants...more

Duty Of An Insurer To Defend An Additional Insured

Many commercial contracts require the seller to maintain insurance against stated risks and also requires that the purchaser be named an additional insured under the seller’s insurance policies. This typically requires that...more

California Court Denies Rescission of Insurance Policy

In its recent decision in Thompson v. Navigators Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60122 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 30, 2012), the United States District Court for the Southern District of California considered whether an insurer was...more

Miller-Davis v Ahrens Construction Inc

Supreme Court to Address Whether "Statute of Repose" for Actions Against Contractors Applies to Implied "Tort" Claims for Injuries...

The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral argument to consider whether MCL 600.5839, the statute of repose, for “any action” against architects, engineers, or contractors to recover damages for “any injury to...more

Keeping Your Company in Compliance with "The Man"

Proper procedures and checks to ensure you maintain corporate formalities can help prevent anyone from "piercing the corporate veil" and suing you individually....more

Insurance Physical: Worth the Check-up!

An appropriate review of your construction and business insurance policies can minimize your risk in the event of a lawsuit....more

NY Indemnification Clauses of Contracts Must Meet the “Exacting” Test

A recent decision by the Appellate Division of the First Department of New York will have a reverberating effect on how indemnification language will be negotiated and drafted in New York contracts and undoubtedly influence a...more

New York Panel Rules that Indemnification Clauses of Contracts Must

New York Panel Rules that Indemnification Clauses of Contracts Must Meet the "Exacting" Test to Entitle a Prevailing Party to Attorney's Fees. A recent decision by the Appellate Division of the First Department of...more

What is the Economic Rule and How Does it Effect Me on my North Carolina construction project?

When a construction project goes awry, who can you sue, and what theories are available to you? If you have a contract, you may not be able to sue under a negligence or "tort" theory because of the application of the...more