Companies sponsoring group health plans are facing ever-increasing costs due to spiraling health care expenses. Popular cost-containment strategies include wellness plans, disease management and consumer directed plans. One little used strategy is to recover dollars which are owed to the…
Oregon statute provides that a property and casualty policy should be formally issued to the insured within 90 days of the coverage being bound. (ORS 742.043) In the period after the coverage is bound, but before the policy is actually…
A California Court of Appeal has held that negligence is not a viable cause of action against an insurer where, despite an inadequate investigation, the insurer was correct in denying coverage. Benavides v. State Farm General Insurance Company, 39 Cal…
Ownership of real property, alone, will not prevent someone else from obtaining a right or interest in your property. A person can obtain a right or interest in your property, known as an easement, simply by using your property in…
Historically, it has been common for general contractors to require as one of the conditions on a subcontract that the subcontractor agree to indemnify the general for any damages that may arise out of the subcontractor's work. Moreover, the standard…
Motions to exclude expert witnesses—commonly known in federal court as Daubert motions—are most often thought of in connection with products liability and other personal injury cases. However, in business interruption coverage litigation, policyholders frequently retain purported economic experts to support…
It is an unfortunate fact that sexual abuse of children is a prevalent problem. Given that liability insurance is not intended to protect against actions that are contrary to public policy, it seems obvious – and fitting – that homeowners…
In the latest chapter of the long-running saga between Archer Daniels Midland and its insurers and insurance brokers arising from the 1993 Mississippi River flooding, the Federal Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit has issued a decision addressing several…
Owners of family-owned businesses have several concerns that limit their ability to engage in estate planning: most of their wealth often consists of interests in the closely-held businesses that are not readily marketable; they do not want to give up…
Over two decades ago, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 ("Superfund"), creating justifiable concern for owners, developers, and others involved with commercial real estate. Strict liability under the Superfund generally extended to "owners" and…