A Primer on the Texas Bar Disciplinary System | Seana Willing | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Polsinelli Podcast - Avoiding Professional Liability
In Part I (”When Can an Insurer Pursue a Malpractice Claim Against Defense Counsel Retained for an Insured”) of our two-part article published by the ABA’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC), we addressed the...more
Second Circuit Holds That Malpractice Insurer Has No Duty to Defend or to Indemnify Lawyer Because Of Business Enterprise Exclusion- Associated Industries Insurance Company sued its insureds, a lawyer, and his former law...more
In GMG Ins. Agency v. Margolis Edelstein, 2023 WL 2854760 (Del. Super. Ct. Apr. 10, 2023), reargument denied sub nom. GMG Ins. Agency v. Edelstein, 2023 WL 3522297 (Del. Super. Ct. May 17, 2023), the plaintiff, an insurance...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, applying North Dakota law, has held that a lawyers professional liability policy did not provide coverage for a legal malpractice lawsuit where the insured knew or...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California, applying California law, has held that the claims made against an insured law firm and its attorneys arising out of their representation of three...more
Insured gets sued. Insurer hires defense counsel to represent insured. Defense counsel takes over the case, and eventually, the case ends. Most of the time, the carrier and its insured will be satisfied with the result. There...more
Appellate courts have been busy the last few weeks deciding a wide swath of insurance issues. The Eighth Circuit became the first federal appellate court to weigh in on pandemic-related business interruption claims. ...more
Long-standing Florida law recognized only two limited exceptions to the general rule prohibiting a third party from pursuing a legal malpractice claim against an attorney who was not in privity with the third party – a will...more
The Florida Supreme Court has given the proverbial “green light” for insurance companies to sue attorneys for negligent representation of an insured. Historically, to bring an action against an attorney for legal malpractice...more
In our March Insurance Update, we discuss four state supreme court cases and four cybercrime cases. The state high courts address: •From whose perspective should a consent-to-settle provision be judged? •What standard...more
The Missouri Court of Appeals, applying Missouri law, has held that multiple acts of negligence committed by a lawyer while representing a married couple in a lawsuit are related acts or omissions constituting a single claim...more
This is a must-attend event for law firm general counsel and managing partners, in-house corporate counsel, professional liability practitioners, legal malpractice insurance professionals, and any practicing lawyer concerned...more
Insurance Coverage – Computer Fraud – E-Mail "Spoofing" - Trick or Treat Editors' Note: Does anything cause deeper mortal terror than the prospect of an uncovered loss? In a tale that has an all-too infrequent happy ending...more
In June, the South Carolina Supreme Court addressed waiver of the attorney-client privilege in bad faith refusal to provide coverage cases and found that, under South Carolina law, an insurer that asserts its subjective...more
Arch Ins. Co. v. Kubicki Draper, LLP, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 886 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Jan. 23, 2019) - The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held that an insurer does not have standing to sue defense counsel for legal...more
The Hypothetical Facts - Take the following hypothetical: A California company is sued in the Los Angeles Superior Court for personal injuries suffered by the driver of a vehicle that was injured in a crash involving the...more
Recently, South Carolina joined the ranks of jurisdictions that allow insurers to sue their panel counsel when the counsel allegedly commits malpractice in representing the insured. Answering a certified question from the...more
Perreault v. AIS Affinity Ins. Agency of New England, Inc., 2018 Mass.App. LEXIS 99 (Ma.App.Ct. Aug. 2, 2018) Brief Summary - As part of the settlement of a malpractice action against an attorney, he assigned any claims...more
Landmark Worldwide, LLC. v. Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, Case No. BC635695, Cal. Super. June 29, 2018 - Brief Summary - A Los Angeles jury rejected plaintiff's claim that the defendant law firm committed malpractice by not...more
The American Law Institute voted on May 22, 2018 to approve the final draft of its “Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance.” This was the culmination of an eight-year project that evolved through 29 drafts resulting in...more
Sentry Select Insurance Company v. Maybank Law Firm, LLC, et al., (May 30, 2018) Brief Summary - The South Carolina Supreme Court, in response to questions from the District Court, ruled that an insurance company may...more
In this case, an Illinois appellate court held that Section 2-403 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/2-403, required the reinsurers and insurer of Developers Surety and Indemnity Co. (“DSI”) a surety, to file...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure/Documentary Stamp Tax: deferred interest on a “pick-a-payment” mortgage did not amount to future advance, which would have required payment of documentary stamp tax - Steinberg v. Wells...more
In a majority of jurisdictions, the “notice-prejudice rule” provides that an insurer may not deny a claim on grounds of late notice without demonstrating prejudice. The rule is statutory in some states and judicially crafted...more
In Stewart Title Guar. Co. v. Sterling Savings Bank, et al., Wash. No. 87087-0 (October 3, 2013), the Washington Supreme Court held that a nonclient insurer may not pursue a malpractice claim against appointed defense counsel...more