Michigan Court Creates New Pip Subrogation Opportunity: Call v. L & KJ Enterprises, LLC, ___ N.W.3d ___ (Mich. App. 2026) (Docket No. 366229)

Auto, Med Pay, PIP, Newsletter, Subrogation, Uncategorized

For decades, Michigan no-fault carriers operated under a rigid, confusing, and often frustrating limitation: recovery of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits was largely confined to the narrow statutory framework of M.C.L.A. § 500.3116. That statute carefully circumscribes when a carrier may obtain reimbursement of a lien against its insured’s tort recovery, and Michigan courts historically…

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Broker Liability After Montgomery: Supreme Court Says Freight Brokers Can Now Be Sued for Carrier Selection Failures

Newsletter, Transportation and Cargo

The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC has significantly altered the legal landscape for freight brokers, transportation intermediaries, insurers, and litigants nationwide. In a ruling that will likely reshape trucking litigation for years to come, the Court held that state-law negligent hiring claims against freight brokers are not preempted…

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Freight Broker Liability and Federal Preemption: The Circuit Split Over Negligent Selection Claims Under 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)

Newsletter, Subrogation, Transportation and Cargo

The Hidden Legal Fault Line in Freight Brokerage In the trucking industry, freight brokerage often appears straightforward on the surface—connecting shippers with carriers to move freight from point A to point B. Yet beneath that operational simplicity lies a steadily expanding legal fault line, where a single carrier-selection decision can become the center of multi-million-dollar…

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How Arkansas Courts Dismantled Workers’ Compensation Subrogation

Newsletter, Subrogation, Workers' Compensation

Workers’ compensation subrogation was never intended to be a windfall for insurance carriers. It was, and remains, a carefully constructed legislative mechanism designed to serve broader economic and societal goals. At its core, subrogation ensures that the ultimate cost of an injury is borne by the party responsible for causing it, rather than by employers,…

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Burns v. Hawaiian Electric: Class Settlements Extinguish Subrogation Rights

Newsletter, Property, Subrogation

The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has now definitively closed the door left slightly ajar after its 2025 wildfire decision. In Burnes v. Hawaiian Electric Co., the court held that property insurers whose insureds are part of a class action settlement have no independent equitable subrogation rights against the settling defendants and no right to intervene in…

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MWL Paralegals Spotlight Innovation at Proof Client Panel

Newsletter, Subrogation

There is far more to aggressively pursuing subrogation than persuasive advocacy alone. Behind every successful recovery stands a coordinated team whose expertise and innovation distinguish MWL as a national leader in subrogation law. Attorneys, paralegals, and support professionals work in concert to develop forward-thinking solutions that strengthen accuracy, improve turnaround times, and provide greater visibility…

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The Phantom Offset: Employer Fault, Kangaroo Courts and Attacks on Texas Workers’ Compensation Subrogation

Newsletter, Subrogation, Workers' Compensation

Texas workers’ compensation subrogation is governed by a comprehensive statutory framework that leaves little room for judicial discretion. A workers’ compensation carrier’s right to reimbursement is firmly established as a “first money” right, meaning that any recovery obtained from a third party must first be applied to reimburse the carrier for benefits paid before the…

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Sweating The Small Stuff: When A Small Florida Workers’ Compensation Claim Becomes A Big Subrogation Disaster

Newsletter, Subrogation

The recent decision in Estes v. Palm Beach County School District, issued by the Florida First District Court of Appeal, highlights a growing and dangerous disconnect within Florida’s workers’ compensation system. At first glance, the case simply reaffirms the statutory framework governing the timing of workers’ compensation claims under Fla. Stat. § 440.19. But when…

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Montana’s Made Whole Maze: Navigating Subrogation After Johnson and Smith

Newsletter, Subrogation

For nearly fifty years, Montana has been ground zero for the aggressive application of the Made Whole Doctrine. Intimidation, bad-faith actions, and class action lawsuits have littered the ground where common-sense insurance subrogation used to dwell. What began as an equitable principle established by the Montana Supreme Court in 1977 in Skauge v. Mountain States…

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