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...
Smartphones and tablets have radically transformed the practice of law in recent years. People are using their mobile devices more frequently today for both business and their personal lives than ever before. However, for many litigators, mobile device discovery remains an unexplored frontier. The proliferation of smartphones and tablets has changed the face of a...
So far the Winter of 2014-15 has spared much of the country from the misery of last winter, but we still have a way to go. As we have just passed the halfway point of the four month season, it’s a good time to look at collecting weather data for subrogation claims where weather may...
California Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6 was enacted in 1981 to provide a summary procedure to enforce settlements. That statute provides that a settlement may be enforced by motion either when an agreement is signed by all parties outside the presence of the court or when the settlement terms are placed on the record...
Oregon, like many states, has a statute of repose (“SOR”) that sets a time frame in which product liability lawsuits must be filed. Prior to 2009, ORS 30.905(2), the statute governing Oregon’s SOR, set an 8 year limitation period that started to run when the product was first purchased for use or consumption. The rule...
The Denver office of Cozen O’Connor recently arbitrated a construction defect caused subrogation loss which occurred during a remodel of a high end vacation residence where the insured and the general contractor had entered into an AIA form agreement, including the standard general conditions. As expected, the general contractor raised the subrogation waiver contained in...
The author of the following blog post, Robert Sottile, is an Articling Student with Cozen O’Connor. The recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Bernum Petroleum Ltd v Birch Lake Energy Inc (Bernum)[1], outlines the requirements to establish gross negligence in losses involving the drilling and operation of oil wells. Background In...
On August 5, 2014, a Class Action settlement has been reached with Watts Water Technologies, Inc. and Watts Regulator Co. (“Watts”) regarding toilet Connectors with coupling nuts made with acetal plastic designed, manufactured, and/or distributed by Watts between 1999 and July 2009. The settlement covers the purchase and possession of a Watts toilet connector, as...
The Supreme Court of Texas recently revisited the concept of spoliation of evidence in Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge. The case involved a slip and fall at a Brookshire Brothers grocery store. In discovery, the grocery store produced a video approximately eight minutes in length starting just before the plaintiff entered the store and concluding...
