It’s happened at least once to every subrogation professional. A significant claim file involving an auto accident in which liability appears to be a lock, suddenly goes into a tailspin when the other side denies the claim because the tortfeasor suffered a heart attack or blacked out as a result of some other sudden medical…
Ranking natural disasters tends to be somewhat arbitrary. Whether or not a storm which kills three people is worse than one which causes $1 billion in damages is perhaps something that should be left to philosophers and theologians. Ranking the “deadliest” natural disasters would undoubtedly result in a slightly different list. However, in the context…
The claims history of most domestic insurance carriers is littered with billion dollar claims as a result of catastrophic losses caused by natural disasters. When God sends a hurricane, tornado, flood, or naturally occurring fire, the resulting losses can be enough to put many insurance companies into receivership. With no third parties or obvious subrogation…
Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer (MWL) takes pride in our efforts to constantly innovate and use creative legal theories to facilitate recoveries for our clients. Our firm has been actively involved in the pursuit of investigation and litigation of claims against oil/gas fracking companies related to their causing earthquake related damages which have historically gone unrecognized…
Wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, but they have become larger and more damaging recently. A recent study by the University of Washington and UC-Santa Barbara looked at the long-term future of wildfires and reveals that a buildup of fuels in conjunction with severe drought conditions suggest that we should brace ourselves for…
Successful subrogation against power companies is not a given. In determining whether the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) may be sued for its clear negligence in failing to properly winterize power production facilities and the power grid that it runs in Texas, the issue is currently in limbo. The Texas Supreme Court is currently…
In 1992, the National Fire Protection Association created a set of investigative guidelines that was published as “NFPA 921: Guide for Fire and Explosive Investigations.” The guide is widely used by both public and private fire investigators. It describes in detail the scientific method and how to specifically apply the method in the context of…
We have recently seen an uptick in cases where a tree has fallen on to a neighbor’s house, with calamitous results. Hurricane Ida will likely only increase such claims. As the first-party claim by the homeowner is processed, subrogation professionals are usually involved to determine if the owner of the tree was at fault and…
Picture this. You build your dream home, or you add a new room onto your house. The first time it rains, you end up with a leaky roof, damaged walls, water on your floors, and your belongings require cleaning or replacement. If your loss occurred in Texas, and you wish to seek recovery, you will…
The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant depends on which state the loss occurs in and the nature and language of the lease involved. There are generally three different approaches: A minority of courts hold that, absent a clear contractual…