Most states now have mandatory car insurance laws that require all drivers to have some type of insurance. New Hampshire is the last of the 50 states which does not require mandatory automobile liability insurance. Wisconsin was second to last, but as of June 1, 2010, Wisconsin now mandates that drivers purchase auto liability insurance.…
A recent Texas Court of Appeals decision parsing the wording of a workers’ compensation policy’s waiver of subrogation endorsement reminds us that, like an onion, a waiver endorsement has many layers and should be peeled back fully before giving up on subrogation and/or reimbursement potential. In Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania v. Exxon,…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (“MWL”) is pleased to announce that Richard Schuster has been made a partner of the firm. Rich has been with MWL since 2012, concentrating his practice on commercial and civil defense matters for manufacturers and their insurers, including overseeing the firm’s involvement with the litigation surrounding the 2013 ammonium nitrate…
The hearing is underway and the injured worker claims a significant injury after a slip and fall. She complains about her inability to work due to the immense pain in her lower back and left ankle. This is her third workplace injury within the past decade. She claims to remember climbing a step stool before…
Back in September 2013, we posted an article entitled “Do Liability Waivers Really Work?” The article served as a primer and cautionary tale regarding the enforceability of common liability waivers. These are the agreements required by gyms, martial arts facilities, climbing gyms, trampoline parks, and similar businesses geared toward physical activity that can be inherently…
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has recently had occasion to clarify the issue of whether extrinsic evidence can be considered in determining an insurer’s duty to defend in the case of Water Well Solutions Serv., Inc. v. Consolidated Ins. Co., 2016 WI 54 (2016). In this case, the Court refused to modify the longstanding “four-corners” rule…
Hawai’i. There is no place like it on earth. It is the most remote population center on the face of the planet, 2,400 miles from the nearest anything. It has the most diverse population on earth, with no racial or ethnic group constituting a majority and a continuing effort underway to create a separate region…
In 2010, researchers at the University of Michigan hypothesized that it is theoretically possible to conjure particles from a complete vacuum under the right circumstances. Performing such a feat in the world of subrogation might seem improbable, but subrogation theory has become subrogation law where MCS-90 Endorsements are concerned. Have you ever spent countless hours…
As a means of raising revenue, particularly during times of economic crisis, a handful of states employ, and many states repeatedly revisit, the dubious and counter-productive scheme of imposing a tax on professional services, whether as a sales tax (including lifting an exemption in many states’ sales tax code for professional services), use tax, excise…
When a product fails and causes damages to other property, a straightforward property damage claim takes on a whole new dimension. Recovering property damage claims related to a product liability defect are some of the most complicated, challenging, and difficult recoveries to make in the field of subrogation. Often, you are dealing with a manufacturer…