MWL Wins Appeal In Defamation Case Brought By Disabled Local Firefighter That Runs Triathlons

Recently, Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) successfully argued an appeal regarding a firefighter’s claims of defamation. The dispute stemmed from a local television broadcast in which a reporter discussed the disabled status of local firefighter. The firefighter had injured his elbow and ulnar nerve, (commonly called the “funny-bone”) resulting in numbness and tingling of…

Don’t Build With “Synthetic Stucco” – If You Want Insurance Coverage

Recently, in Kaitlin Woods Condominium Ass’n v. Kaitlin Woods, LLC, et al., 2017 WL 3234370 (Wis. 2017), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld a “synthetic stucco” (also known as Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS)) exclusion in a commercial general liability policy. The facts of the case are quite common—damages caused by water allegedly stemming…

Navigating The Anti-Subrogation Rule

Subrogation is the legal doctrine which allows one party, usually an insurance company, that pays a loss by its insured which was caused by a third party, to take over the rights of its insured against the third party and recover its claim payments. It wouldn’t make much sense if, after paying a first-party insurance…

North Dakota Fights Back Against Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Obstacles In Anti-Subrogation States

Plaintiff-friendly judges and legislators in various states have gained strength and influence over the last twenty years, resulting in statutes and court decisions inimical to the subrogation and reimbursement rights of workers’ compensation carriers. North Dakota is fighting back. On March 13, 2017, the North Dakota legislature amended § 65-01-09, North Dakota’s workers’ compensation subrogation…

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM: Missouri Supreme Court Finally Gets FEHBA Preemption Right

Some states, including Missouri, are known as “anti-subrogation” states. Missouri’s public policy prohibits the assignment of a personal injury claim, whether it is called an assignment, subrogation interest, or agreement to reimburse. Hays v. Missouri Highways and Transp. Comm’n, 62 S.W.3d 538 (Mo. App. 2001). This means that in Missouri, a health insurance company who…