A 2018 N.Y. Court of Appeals case has shed light on the limitations of privacy settings on social media accounts. Previously, a user might have thought that marking a post or photo “private” would be sufficient to shield it from prying eyes, even in the event of a lawsuit. But that’s not necessarily the case....
In September 2017, a 15-year-old threw two fireworks into Oregon’s Eagle Creek Canyon, sparking a huge wildfire that destroyed several homes and impacted tourism in the area. The teenager pleaded guilty to reckless burning of public and private property, and was sentenced to community service and probation. The fire’s victims, which included homeowners and the...
As winter approaches and snow and ice begin to cover parts of the nation, property owners in the affected areas will begin to rely upon snowmelt systems to keep roofs free of snow and ice. In recent years, to avoid the eyesore of heat cable running along the rooftop, snowmelt systems that can be installed...
As part of Fire Prevention Week (October 7-13), it is timely to reflect on NFPA’s video on the Great Chicago Fire of 1879. The link to the video can be found here. While many lessons have been learned in fire prevention, fire spread, insurance coverage, and subrogation recovery since 1879, there are still many challenges...
In a 2014 blog post, I reported on Oregon’s expanded product liability statute of repose (“SOR”). The point of that previous blog post was that in 2009 the Oregon legislature made an important revision to its SOR. First, the legislature extended the SOR from 8 years to 10 years. Second, and more importantly, the legislature...
After handling any sizeable amount of subrogation claims involving water damage, you may have asked yourself, “why is the insured always on vacation when a loss occurs?” In fact, most of the loss descriptions on the Notice of Loss will start with the sentence, “The insured was on vacation when…” It seems by a superficial...
High Court in England and Wales holds that project insurers can bring a subrogation claim against a sub-contractor on a project where the sub-contractor has expressly agreed to obtain separate insurance cover for the project. Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation Trust v Lakehouse Contracts & Ors [2018] EWH 558 (TCC) It is common practice in the construction industry...
A recent opinion from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama highlights how the failure to identify the seller of a defective product can lead to dismissal. In Jackson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 2:17-cv-00634-AKK (N.D. Ala.) the court was faced with a plaintiff who was severely burned when a gasoline container...
In July of 2016 Leslie Hulburt and I reported that the Utah Appellate Court recently issued a decision, if read out of context, could be used to suggest that a subrogation case in Utah must be brought in the name of the insured. See Wilson v. Educators Mut. Ins. Ass’n., 2016 UT App 38. The...
Toddlers are indeed the best of the best when it comes to negotiating. Every parent is put to the test when it comes to enforcing the rules and avoiding temper tantrums. Even the savviest of attorneys have caved when dealing with their kids. There are some lessons we can learn from these little, but fierce...
