Cancelling a Financed Policy: Reliance on a Power of Attorney
2/8/19
By: Eric Benedict When a prospective insured is applying for and obtaining coverage, no matter the type of risk, the cost of the premiums is likely to be a foremost concern. To cover the cost of the premium, an insured may choose to seek financing from third-party entities known as premium financing companies. In exchange for agreed…
A Holly(cal) Jolly (Almost) Christmas
12/28/18
By: Zach Moura In what is sure to be the beginning of a slew of cases litigating coverage for injuries caused by drones, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California recently issued an opinion denying coverage under an aircraft exclusion in the drone operator’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company…
In the Land of Insurance Coverage, Specificity is King
12/13/18
GA Court of Appeals Finds Insurer Must Cover Millions in Damages Because of Policy Ambiguities By: Brandon Howard Whenever a court suspects an insurance policy is “ambiguous,” anxiety strikes the minds of both coverage counsel and insurers alike. For coverage counsel, combating an alleged ambiguous provision of a policy typically occurs on the back-end, after…
Notice Prejudice Rule Alive and Well in California
12/6/18
By: Zach Moura California’s Second District Court of Appeal said October 16th (Marty Lat v. Farmers New World Life Insurance Co., No. B282008, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., Div. 1, 2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 932) that under the notice prejudice rule, an insurance company may not deny an insured’s claim under an occurrence policy for lack…
DOL Guidance On No Fault Attendance Policies
9/21/18
By: Joyce Mocek The Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued a new opinion letter on an employer’s no-fault attendance policy which effectively froze an employee’s attendance points that had accrued prior to taking the FMLA leave. The DOL maintained that the no-fault attendance policy did not violate the FMLA if it was…
On-Premises Rest Breaks: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
7/18/18
By: Allison Hyatt Under California law, non-exempt employees are entitled to a 30-minute meal break if the employee works more than 5 hours in a workday, and a 10-minute break for every 4 hours worked (or “major fraction” thereof). In the past, employers commonly required employees to remain on the premises during rest breaks. However,…
Schiff Hardin Requests 5th Circuit To Dismiss Insurer's Malpractice Suit
4/25/18
By: Barry S. Brownstein Schiff Hardin, LLP, asserting that it has immunity under Texas law, has appealed to the Fifth Circuit seeking to end a suit filed by Ironshore Europe DAC, alleging that the law firm’s bad advice in connection with a product liability trial cost it $34 million. Schiff Hardin defended Dorel Juvenile Group…
Self-Driving Vehicles and their Anticipated Impacts
1/9/18
By: Courtney Mazzio Self-driving vehicles are quickly bursting onto the scene and federal regulatory bodies are ever-evolving policies with an effort caught in a tug of war between accelerating the development of the technology and encouraging safety. In September 2016 under the Obama administration, a policy addressing the development of self-driving vehicles was generated by…
Federal Judge Gives Green Light to “Show Me Your Papers”
12/18/12
By: Kelly Morrison Last week, federal Judge Thomas Thrash signed an order authorizing the immediate enforcement of “show me your papers”— also known as Section 8 of Georgia’s controversial immigration law. Section 8 allows law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of criminal suspects who fail to produce proper identification. The ruling was a…
NLRB Strikes Down Another Social Media Policy
12/10/12
By: David Cole The NLRB has ruled that another social media policy is unlawful because it infringes on employees’ rights to engage in concerted activity. This time, it looked at DISH Network’s social media policy, which stated that “you may not make disparaging or defamatory comments about DISH Network, its employees, officers, directors, vendors, customers,…