Christmas has come early for the California subrogation community! A recent decision from the Court of Appeals has held that the 2002 “Right to Repair Act” (aka SB 800) does not apply to cases in which a property owner has suffered actual damages. In a well-reasoned opinion, the court in Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v....

Historically, and unlike other jurisdictions, English Courts have seen no difference between negligence and gross negligence as a legal concept. In 1843 it was “the same thing, with the addition of a vituperative epithet” (Wilson v. Brett) and in 1997 it was said that “the difference between negligence and gross negligence [is] merely one of...

In a recent decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court provided valuable clarification regarding the application of the make whole doctrine in Connecticut. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. TD Banknorth Ins. Agency, Inc., — A.3d — , 309 Conn. 449 (Conn. July 30, 2013). The case arose out of an insurance coverage dispute. In 2005, Haynes Construction...

  In the throes of the dog days of Summer, a recent California decision has placed a chilling effect on voluntary dismissals. In Loong v Superior Court, 2013 DJAR 9593, the Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, held that a voluntary dismissal of an action constitutes conclusion of an action. Such a dismissal, therefore, provides...

Until recently, in Canada, there was a lack of consensus across the provinces regarding whether the settlement figure in Pierringer agreements was required to be disclosed. A Pierringer agreement is a type of settlement agreement whereby the plaintiff settles a claim with one or more co-defendants in an action while reserving the right to proceed...

In light of the recent news headlines involving NSA’s PRISM surveillance program, it probably should not surprise us, but big brother is watching You. For some time now, police in an increasing number of states across the country have been using “license plate readers.” These devices collect various amounts of data, including photographs, and time...

  Most attorneys and claims professionals are accustomed to thinking of a party’s retained expert as being the “property” of that party for the purposes of litigation, whether that expert is designated for testimony or as a non-testifying consultant. A 2011 decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, however, suggests...

A recent Washington case shows that establishing a “taking” is just the beginning of an inverse condemnation claim. Like many jurisdictions, Washington allows landowners to bring an inverse condemnation claim—similar to a 5th Amendment eminent domain claim that the government can bring—when they can show that a governmental entity harmed their property interests. However, there...

In a recent case out of the Seventh Court of Appeals of Texas, the court considered whether a waiver of subrogation provision waived an insurer’s claim for its insured’s uninsured losses or deductible.  Am. Zurich Ins. Co. v. Barker Roofing, L.P., 387 S.W.3d 54, 66 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2012, no pet.).  In deciding this issue, the...

If you are a subrogation professional who handles construction defect claims in Texas, you may have heard references to the case of Ewing Construction Company v. Amerisure Insurance Company, 684 F.3d 512 (5th Cir. 2012).  In Ewing, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an insurer had no duty to defend its insured subcontractor...