First Circuit holds Total Pollution Exclusion does not apply where an...
I wrote here about Performance Transp., Inc. v. General Star Indemnity Co., 419 F.Supp. 3d 199 (D. Mass. 2019), a case in which the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts held...
View ArticleInvitation to Boston Bar Associaton panel I'm moderating on reference...
It's on Monday, April 5, 2021 from noon to 1 PM. You can register here. Here's the blurb: BBA Webinar: Reference Proceedings: What Attorneys Need to Know about Handling First-Party Property...
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My usual rant: Summer camps should not make parents sign waivers of liability
Regular readers of this blog know that my pet peeve is requiring people to sign waivers of liability to participate in activities, and that I particularly despise them for children's activities. Of...
View ArticleHousekeeping post
Updating: Actually, you will receive an email asking you to confirm that you want to keep your (free) subscription to my blog. Please say yes! Neither the subscription service nor I share your email...
View ArticleAnother houskeeping post (sorry!)
Contrary to my post from the other day, if you are already subscribed to receive email notifications of new posts from this blog you will receive an email asking if you want to remain subscribed....
View ArticleHow do you rack up $25 million in attorney's fees on a single case?
Practice, I guess. Universal Hub posted this article about Harvard University's lawsuit against its excess carrier,* Zurich American Insurance Company, seeking reimbursement of costs in excess of the...
View ArticleSJC holds that standard auto policies must cover post-repair diminishment in...
Agency Checklists provides a comprehensive discussion of the decision here.
View ArticleUS District Court for District of Massachusetts holds that broad auto...
Lynnway Auto Auctions conducted a wholesale auto auction at a facility owned by it and BLR. A Lynnway employee lost control of a vehicle, resulting in serious injury and the death of five people.The...
View ArticleIn a not-really but supposedly coverage decision, SJC holds that police...
In Berry v. Commerce Insurance Company, 175 N.E.3d 383 (Mass. 2021), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that a police officer who recklessly drove his vehicle into a fellow officer during a...
View ArticleInvitation to Boston Bar Association webinar I am moderating on Issues in...
The webinar will be on Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 2 PM. You can sign up to attend here. And here's the description:Who hasn’t heard horror stories about condominium unit owners battling each...
View ArticleSeeking current or recent associates of color at insurance defense firms to...
I am working with attorney Garrett Lee to put together a panel on diversity at insurance defense firms for the Boston Bar Association. We have partners with hiring responsibility from three major...
View ArticleUS District Court holds insurer may be liable for treble underlying...
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has issued an opinion holding that the limit of a condominium unit owner's loss assessment coverage is the most the unit owner can...
View ArticleInvitation to my webinar on Liability Insurance and Good Faith Claims...
The webinar is on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 from 4 PM to 5:30 PM, and is co-sponsored by the Insurance Library and the Social Law Library. You can register through this link. Feel free to email...
View ArticleUS District Court for District of Massachusetts holds that Vermont Mutual's...
Fire in apartment and tenants' underlying lawsuit against landlordChester Robinson and Lorraine Hames were tenants in a multi-unit apartment building owned by Edward Toland and Cogavin Associates....
View ArticleWatch my recent webinar on Good Faith Claims Handling
On September 28, 2022 I gave a webinar on the topic Liability Insurance and Good Faith Claims Handling: What Every Massachusetts Attorney Should Know. This was a joint program of two of my favorite...
View ArticleA video primer on insurance claims for damage to buildings
Welcome to my first video on insurance issues. In this one I discuss basic issues in real property insurance claims.
View ArticleSJC holds that under plain language of pollution policy there is no coverage...
Ken's Foods, Inc. operates a manufacturing facility in Georgia. In 2018 its wastewater treatment system malfunctioned and wastewater flowed into a Georgia tributary. Ken's Foods cleaned up and...
View ArticleWhat ChatGPT says about exclusions in insurance policies, and why I'm not...
So many people are talking about ChatGPT -- the artificial intelligence content creator -- that awareness of it has trickled down even to us attorneys, well-known to be late adopters of all...
View ArticleJDSupra discusses the effect on insurance claims of the tort reform measures...
Although in this blog I generally stick to Massachusetts topics, this article from JDSupra on the new Florida tort reform measures should be of interest to anyone who practices in the insurance bad...
View ArticleFirst Circuit holds that policyholder did not breach cooperation clause when...
Following an arson fire in 2021 that destroyed a building owned by BAS Holding Corporation on the Brockton Fairgrounds, Philadelphia Insurance Company undertook an investigation that focused on...
View ArticleU.S. District Court for District of Mass. holds no coverage for law firm...
In some ways, this is an eye-crossingly boring decision, even for an insurance coverage geek like myself. It relies on definitions found in negotiable instruments law. Need I say more? But, coverage...
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Introducing my assistant, Nikki Payne
If you’ve worked with me over the past year then you’ve likely had an opportunity to meet my assistant, Nikki Payne. Nikki is the first point of contact a new client has with my office. She walks you...
View ArticleFirst Circuit holds that under clear Massachusetts precedent, an insurer...
I am pleased to say that reason has prevailed in the First Circuit. I am generally pretty sanguine about insurance coverage decisions (except on my own cases, of course). I might disagree with the...
View ArticleFall River District Court allows claim against insurer's vehicle appraiser
Source One Financial Corporation sued Commerce Insurance Company and its adjuster in a dispute arising out of the value of a totaled vehicle. Source One sought to amend the complaint by adding...
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