Subrogating Christmas

One of the classic holiday movies is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, a story about an ordinary family, the Griswolds, who have big Christmas plans that predictably take a turn for the very (funny) worst. One of the memorable scenes from the movie involves the home decoration skills of the family patriarch, Clark Griswold:      Aunt…

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Montana Court Ignores Public Policy Interests Of State Paying Comp Benefits In Conflict-Of-Law Subrogation Decision

Just when you thought that the level of judicial and legislative apathy and/or ignorance with regard to the huge financial benefits of workers’ compensation subrogation for businesses and the economy couldn’t get any higher, the Montana Supreme Court just lowered the bar even further. In a decision which will effectively increase the cost of doing business…

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SUBROGATING HAWAI’I: Navigating The Subrogation Trade Winds In “The Middle Of Nowhere”

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…

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SUBROGATION MAGIC: Creating Something Out Of Nothing – Subrogating MCS-90 Endorsements

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…

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SALES AND USE TAXES ON SUBROGATION SERVICES: Navigating The Sales Tax Maze In South Dakota, New Mexico, And Hawaii

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…

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Connecticut Supreme Court Grants Workers’ Compensation Carrier Right To File Third-Party Action

Until recently, Connecticut’s Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Statute, § 31-293, labored under the judicial interpretation by which an employer was allowed to file a third-party action, but its workers’ compensation carrier was not. Subrogated carriers had to hope that the employee or employer was willing to bring an action because if the employee didn’t file, and…

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SUING THE KING: State Sovereign Immunity And Tort Liability In All 50 States

Ronald Reagan famously said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Government has become almost synonymous with ineptitude. So it should be no surprise that every day people are injured, killed, or sustain property damage at the hands of careless government employees. Damages available to…

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