This article was originally appeared in the WDTL publication, The Defense News, in their Spring 2025 issue and can be accessed here. Q: How did the defense lawyer anchor general damages at trial? A: He got hooked on Plaintiff’s…
Businesses often include forum selection clauses in contracts, which restrict where the parties to the contract may sue each other. California has a strong public policy in favor of the right to a jury trial. Earlier this week the California…
In Twigg v. Admiral Ins. Co., 373 Or 475 (2025), the Oregon Supreme Court announced “property damage” caused by defective construction can be an “occurrence” if there is a basis in fact for imposing tort liability on the insured. Previously,…
Policyholders often contend a limitation or exclusion of coverage in an insurance policy is “illusory” and thus should not be enforced. On August 8, the California Supreme Court ruled that there is no “illusory coverage doctrine” per se and that…
On July 15, Governor Newsom signed AB 2049, which changes the rules for summary judgment motions in state court effective January 1, 2025. While there are a number of deadline changes, the largest change is a slight expansion of the…
Happy New Year Employers! This new year brings a few changes to Oregon’s employment laws that affect eligibility for employee and prospective employee protections under Oregon law. The following provides a summary of each change and a link to each…
Most new California statutes take effect on January 1. Unlike some states, California’s legislature meets for about 10 months every year, so normally there is lots of legislative activity. 2023 was, by California standards, relatively quiet for new or amended…
In the long-awaited opinion of Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union, issued December 29, 2023, the Oregon Supreme Court, split 4-3, announced that the plaintiff pleaded facts sufficient to give rise to a legally cognizable common-law negligence claim for emotional…
A panel of California’s Second District Court of Appeal ruled this week that pollution exclusions in a shared-and-layered property insurance program did not apply to alleged losses arising out of the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus across the insured’s portfolio…
Last week policyholders discovered there is no silver lining in the Silver State when it comes to Business Income for COVID-19 related losses. The Nevada Supreme Court in Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Co. v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 139 Nev…