You may recall instances when the defense in a subrogation action tried to mitigate its client’s liability for a loss arguing (usually unsuccessfully) that your insured failed to have a fire break between the properties, contributing to the loss. So then on a loss when the fire occurred on the other side of the road,...
Researchers in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine have analyzed decades of wildfire statistics from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The team’s findings (published last month in the open-access journal Scientific Reports) concluded that the annual burn season has lengthened and the yearly peak has...
Howard Maycon has been selected as a 2021 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) by Daily Journal http://ow.ly/Zcc750E6oC2. We are extremely proud of this recognition for Howard Maycon, as the leader of our California wildfire litigation team. About The Author
As wildfires rage through the Western Region of the U.S., we dedicate this post to recognize, honor, and thank all the firefighters and volunteers working tirelessly and selflessly. Thank you to all the men and women in the fire departments across the nation for your heroism and service. About The Author
A class action lawsuit claiming a product defect is used to recover damages for a large group of people harmed by the product. When receiving notice of a class action that may involve a product in one or more of your cases, you do have some decisions to make. If you have concerns that the...
The Right to Repair Act has reared its ugly head again. In Elliott Homes, Inc. v. Superior Court (Hicks) 2016 DJAR 11930, the Third Appellate District issued a writ of mandate ordering a stay of pending litigation until plaintiffs satisfied the pre-litigation procedures mandated by the Right to Repair Act. Plaintiffs brought a construction defect...
On February 27, 2015, District Judge Joanna Seybert of the Eastern District of New York issued a significant and informative Decision on the issue of striking a defendant’s affirmative defenses in Allstate Ins. Co. v. Long Island Power Authority, 14-CV-0444, NYLJ 1202719533249 (E.D.N.Y., Decided February 27, 2015). The decision discusses the legal standard for...
The Illinois supreme court case Dix Mut. Ins. Co. v. LaFramboise is often used to argue against landlord-tenant subrogation claims in Illinois. Under Dix, tenants are considered co-insureds under a landlord’s property insurance policy by virtue of making rent payments unless the lease clearly says otherwise. Because an insurer can’t pursue subrogation from an insured,...
Establishing the cause of a fire through the process of elimination has been a hot topic in recent years, both among subrogation professionals as well as inside the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). In 2011, NFPA explicitly rejected negative corpus as a reliable methodology in fire investigation. Specifically, NFPA 921-18.6.5 (2011) provided: Inappropriate Use of...
