Wisconsin Court Issues Decision Affecting Various Legal Issues In A “Bifurcation And Stay” Context

In the case of Lyle and Carol Hird v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, Appeal No. 2014AP2402, a 2015 Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision dealt with allegations of (1) bad faith; (2) Wis. Stat. § 628.46(1) statutory interest; and (3) Wisconsin’s Offer of Settlement Statute – Wis. Stat. § 807.01. Taking into account the very…

Join Us For A Webinar On February 25, 2016 – Introduction to Property and Casualty Subrogation

Gary L. Wickert will be presenting a complimentary webinar on February 25, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (Central) on Introduction To Property and Casualty Subrogation. From recognition of subrogation in difficult fact settings to effective and thorough, yet cost-effective, investigation of natural disasters, this 90-minute webinar will focus on training the claims/subrogation professional on when, how, and…

Georgia Supreme Court Issues Major Comp Subrogation Apportionment Decision

Just when you thought workers’ compensation subrogation in this country’s most difficult state could not get any more difficult, it does. In Zaldivar v. Prickett, 774 S.E.2d 688 (Ga. 2015), Prickett sued Zaldivar for injuries resulting from a 2009 work-related auto accident. The defendant blamed Prickett’s employer, Overhead Door Company, which was not a party…

The Parable Of The Crippled Mare: Loss-Of-Use Now Recoverable In Texas Total-Loss Auto Cases

Many years ago, a lawyer argued that the long-standing Texas rule prohibiting recovery of damages for loss-of-use of personal property, unless the property was a total loss or destroyed was unfair. City of Canadian v. Guthrie, 87 S.W.2d 316 (Tex. Civ. App. 1932). His client’s one-eyed, underfed mare lived a simple life. One night, however, she…

License To Steal: Supreme Court Helps Plan Beneficiaries Avoid Repaying Subrogated Health Plans

Trial lawyers are happy. On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued their written opinion in the long-anticipated ERISA subrogation case of Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, 2016 WL 228344 (Jan. 20, 2016). The U.S. Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a Plan beneficiary is…

2015 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

MWL would like to thank all our clients and local counsel for a wonderful year in 2016 and we wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed Holiday Season. Regardless of what Christmas means to you, we hope your Christmas is full of holiday cheer shared with family and friends. For us…

This Christmas’ “Hot” New Gift: Exploding Hoverboards

With holiday shopping in full swing and Christmas a week away, there are growing concerns over the safety of one of the season’s hottest items – hoverboards. The year’s “must have” gift harkens back to the popular ‘80s movie Back To The Future II and has captured the imagination of young and old alike, their popularity…

The Confusing State Of Daily Fantasy Sports

Occasionally, we post articles on legal subjects other than insurance subrogation because they are of such a wide interest that it would not be right to avoid comment on them. Such a topic is the meteoric growth of daily fantasy sports (DFS) such as DraftKings and FanDuel. In 2015, nearly 60 million people played fantasy…