What if the deck was stacked in such a way that insureds and tortfeasors could gerrymander and structure a tort settlement so as to ensure that the insured would never be “made whole”? Surely such ability would be a legal absurdity in a state where subrogation is supposedly favored for all of the societal benefits…
One of the recurring questions Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) is called on to answer involves when and under what circumstances the insured suffering automobile property damage, or his or her subrogated automobile insurer, may recover for diminution in value of a damaged automobile. This article is intended to provide a global answer to…
More than 1,000 vehicles a day are damaged by paint overspray in the United States, resulting in more than one-half of a billion dollars in damage and insurance claims annually. Airborne paint overspray results from all sorts of industrial, commercial, and private paint jobs, such as bridges, water towers, and other large and inconveniently located…
“Force-placed insurance” is an insurance policy placed by a lender or bank on a home or vehicle when the property owners’ own insurance is cancelled, has lapsed or is deemed insufficient. This insurance insures the lender and allows the lender to protect its financial interest in the property. It is rarely called the same thing…
For years, Pennsylvania products liability law has been split between state and federal courts with regard to the applicable standard for proving a strict liability design defect case. Pennsylvania State Courts followed common law precedent flowing from a 1978 case, implementing the principles of the Restatement of Torts (Second). In 2009, the U.S Court of…
The recent riots in Ferguson, Missouri have resulted in property damage in excess of $5 million, and the total is climbing. However, these riots don’t even come close to the $1.2 billion in damages during the costliest civil disorder in history, the 1992 Los Angeles riots which resulted from the acquittal of four Los Angeles…
Many of our readers know how frustrating it can be to secure a judgment against a tortfeasor company only to see that company close down. However, an increasingly common scenario sees that same “company” resurrect itself as a new company shortly afterwards. Normally, the law protects successor corporations from the liabilities of its predecessors, and…
An Indiana Court of Appeals decision issued on October 28, 2014 changes the landscape of landlord/tenant subrogation in the Hoosier State. For years, Indiana allowed an insurer to bring a subrogation claim against a tenant. LBM Realty, LLC v. Mannia, 981 N.E.2d 569 (Ind. App. 2012). A 1996 Court of Appeals decision appeared to announce…
Many of our clients are members of Arbitration Forums, Inc. (AF), a nonprofit, private arbitration organization that facilitates arbitration hearings between its members. Companies can be a part of a number of different programs, including arbitrating property damage disputes. By joining AF, a member company signs a Property Subrogation Arbitration Agreement (Property Program). The signatory…
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 losses resulting from a party’s failure to perform under a contract when the harm consists…