Intersection accidents represent a disproportionate share of vehicle crashes and, therefore, a disproportionate share of litigated cases. Credible witnesses are the key to winning cases, but credible witnesses are rare, can be cross-examined, and are often reluctant to cooperate. The…
A new Texas Supreme Court decision in Chapman Custom Homes, Inc. v. Dallas Plumbing Co., 2014 WL 4116839 (Tex. 2014) narrows the stranglehold of the Economic Loss Doctrine (ELD) and states that the ELD precludes recovery in tort for economic…
In Humana v. Farmers Texas County Mutual, et al., 13-cv-006111 (W.D. Tex. Sept. 24, 2014), the plaintiff, a Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO), sought reimbursement from a no-fault automobile insurer. The magistrate judge previously granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss holding…
Governor signs amendment to § 143.24d making arbitration of small auto property claims mandatory but not binding. In 2013, Illinois enacted a new statute requiring the mandatory arbitration of collision subrogation claims involving less than $2,500. 215 I.L.C.S. §…
Insured motorists are called upon every day to pay their deductibles in order for their carriers to cover the necessary repairs to their motor vehicles after accidents. Many carriers refuse to include those deductibles in the subrogated claims they make…
On June 27, 2013, the Council of the District of Columbia enacted emergency and temporary legislation resulting in an amendment to § 32-1535 which narrows the window during which a workers’ compensation carrier has to file a third-party action. An…
A number of changes have affected the success of subrogation in the healthcare insurance setting – changes that financial executives need to be aware of in order to both mitigate negative impact and maximize opportunities. Kurt Ullman, this article’s author,…
For the time being, trial lawyers are celebrating the recent 2nd Circuit decision in Wurtz v. Rawlings Co., LLC, 2014 WL 3746801 (2nd Cir. 2014), which on July 31st, held that a class action suit seeking to enjoin three defendants…
Property insurers along all lines could simplify their business practices and lower their overhead considerably by simply paying any and all property damages, claims, expenses, and consequential damages alleged to have been incurred by and in the amounts claimed by…
A recent unpublished and quite puzzling decision from the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, threw decades of established New Jersey subrogation law into question when it announced that a workers’ compensation carrier has no subrogation/reimbursement rights on the medical…