In Federal Ins. Co. v. Singing River Health System, 850 F.3d 187 (5th Cir. 2017), the Fifth Circuit overturned a district court decision that briefly left insurers in doubt whether fees paid to independent counsel could erode the limits of a burning-limits liability policy. In Moeller v. American Guar & Liab. Ins. Co., 707 So….
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Arbitration case filings for year-end 2016 reflected a 7 percent increase compared to cases filed in 2015 during the same time frame. More specifically, 3,435 cases were filed in 2015, but 3,681 cases were filed in 2016. Of the 3,681 cases filed, 68 percent or 2,519 were customer disputes and 32 percent or 1,162 were…
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The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has held that Defendants responsible for dumping hazardous waste in a town park are not liable under CERCLA because they did not know of the hazardous nature of the material dumped. Town of Islip v. Datre, 47 E.L.R. 20049 (E.D.N.Y. 2017). In 2013,…
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In early April, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the first Federal Circuit Court to hold that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination and, therefore, prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The Seventh Circuit’s decision sides…
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In United States of America v. Osborne, No. 4:11-CV-1029, 2017 WL 1135640 (N.D. Ohio March 27, 2017), the Northern District of Ohio denied a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Third-Party Defendant William R. Gray Associates, Inc. (“Gray”) based on the permit procurement obligations in Gray’s agreement for engineering services with Third-Party Plaintiff City of…
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In CGM Const., Inc. v. Sydor, 42 N.Y.S.3d 407 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016), the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division for the Third Department, held a contractor was not liable for alleged inadequate work performed on the owner’s property, because the contractor followed the owner’s instructions when performing the work. The Court found the contract…
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The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of an insurer on the issue of pre-tender defense costs in EmbroidMe.com, Inc. v. Travelers Property & Casualty Company of America, 845 F.3d 1099 (11th Cir. 2017). Applying Florida law, the court denied the insured’s breach of contract suit for over $400,000 in fees incurred before…
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In Horton v. Hinton, 26 ALW13-4 (2150631), the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a lawsuit based on plaintiff’s failure to comply with discovery orders. In February 2015, Brianna Horton filed suit against Bria Hinton alleging that Hinton drove her motor vehicle negligently and/or wantonly causing the subject motor vehicle…
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In Bond v. McLaughlin, 2017 WL 728176, — So.3d — (Ala. 2017), the Alabama Supreme Court reversed summary judgment for an attorney in a legal malpractice action, finding a question of fact as to whether plaintiff could prove her “case within a case.” In an Alabama legal malpractice action, the plaintiff must prove that the…
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In Levinson Alcoser Associates, L.P. v. El Pistolón II, LTD., No. 15-0232, 2017 WL 727269 (Tex. Feb. 24, 2017), the Supreme Court of Texas held Texas’s recently amended Certificate of Merit statute requires a plaintiff to accompany his complaint not only with a sworn Certificate of Merit from an expert stating the claim has merit,…
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