Automotive and Trucking Accidents in the U.S. with Foreign Defendants: What Insurers Need to Know
Butler's Thursday Tips | Little Black Box
Straight Talks: Autonomous regulations around the world
Straight Talks: Innovations in product liability for autonomous and connected vehicles
How Auto Defects Can Cause Passenger Injury
Understanding Supplemental Spousal Liability Insurance in NY
Hailey French’s Story – When millions barely cover the bills.
What happens if more than one person is responsible for an accident?
Catastrophic Impairment: What it means and why it's important to you if you've been hurt in a car accident
In Wolf v. Riverport Insurance Co., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an insured’s bad faith settlement delay claim against her insurer after she attempted to recover under section 155 of the...more
Hampton v. Progressive Insurance Company, Slip Copy, 2024 WL 2301366 - Robert Hampton purchased up to $15,000 in underinsured motorist coverage from Progressive for losses incurred in 2023. Steven Vicioso caused his car to...more
A plaintiff cannot recover attorney’s fees in a Florida lawsuit for Uninsured Motorist (“UM”) benefits unless there is a dispute about whether the insurance policy provides coverage. However, attorney’s fees from the...more
On January 19, 2022, New Jersey’s Governor, Phil Murphy, passed S.B. 1559 into law, referred to as the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“IFCA”). The IFCA creates a private cause of action for injured motorists to sue...more
Brett McIsaac v. Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids, Michigan, A160389 (Sonoma County Super. Ct. No. SCV-265433) (Filed 4/30/21; certified for publication 5/19/21) - McIsaac had an auto insurance policy with Foremost...more
The Minnesota Supreme Court in the matter of Alison Joel Peterson v. Western National Mutual Insurance Company, 946 N.W.2d 903 (Minn. 2020) opined for the first time on the state’s bad faith statute (Minn. Stat. § 604.18) and...more
Your friend invites you out to dinner. She offers to pick you up since your house is on the way. As you head toward the restaurant, your friend’s car is sideswiped by a driver who blew through a red light. You are seriously...more
In Case v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., Inc. (No. B281732, filed 11/21/18, ord. pub. 12/18/18), a California appeals court held that the allowable reduction from uninsured motorist (UM) benefits for “payable”...more
After Melissa Parisi sustained injuries in a vehicle collision and learned that the other motorist involved in the crash carried only $15,000 in auto insurance, she submitted an underinsured motorist (UIM) claim to State...more
In Florida, an insured cannot bring a first-party bad faith claim based on a claim for UM coverage unless the insured first files a Civil Remedy Notice (CRN) with the Florida Department of Financial Services. In Mathurin v....more
Plaintiff Mary Coppinger was injured in 2010 when her vehicle was rear-ended by Daniel Klein. Both Ms. Coppinger and Mr. Klein were insured through Defendant Allstate. Mr. Klein had a $50,000 policy limit; Ms. Coppinger had...more
Although the Arizona Court of Appeals resolved this issue 20 years ago, I frequently see insureds' counsel argue that an insurer must pay the "undisputed amount" of a UM or UIM claim—and I just saw this argument last week—so...more
Plaintiff Bernie Clemens was injured in a motor vehicle accident in August 2009. Clemens’ attorney helped him recover $25,000 in a supplementary underinsured motorist (SUM) claim, and then sued Clemens’ insurer under...more
MacKinney was involved in a motor vehicle accident and sought underinsured motorist coverage from Allstate. Allstate insured MacKinney’s vehicle under three policies. The total UIM coverage under the policies was $150,000,...more
In Zubillaga v. Allstate Indemnity Company (No. G052603, filed 6/19/17), a California appeals court ruled that triable issues about the insurer’s reliance on expert medical opinions precluded summary judgment on the genuine...more
In Cadle v. GEICO Ins. Co., Case No. 15-11283 (11th Cir. Sept. 30, 2016), the Eleventh Circuit held that GEICO had not acted in bad faith when it failed to settle a claim after the insured did not provide any evidence of...more
On Friday, September 30, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law that had been granted by the Middle District Court of Florida in a uninsured/underinsured motorist...more
Petitioner Adrian Fridman (“Fridman”) was injured in an automobile accident involving an underinsured motorist. Fridman filed a claim with his uninsured/underinsured (UM) insurance carrier (Insurer) for the $50,000 limits of...more
Stanford v. National Grange Ins. Co., Civil Action No. 11-7144 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 3, 2014). Eastern District of Pennsylvania grants insurer’s motion for summary judgment on bad faith claim in dispute over payment of...more
Shaffer v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No. 1:13-CV-01837, 2014 WL 5325340 (M.D. Pa. Oct. 20, 2014). Court grants summary judgment to insurer where lengthy investigation was required to determine causation for UIM...more
Cadle v. Geico Gen. Ins. Co., No. 6:13-CV-1591-ORL-31G, 2014 WL 4983746 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 6, 2014). Middle District of Florida finds that insured’s bad faith claim for first-party failure to settle could not properly be...more
Safeco Ins. Co. of Ill. v. Beare, No. 4D13-3104, 2014 WL 4626851 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Sept. 17, 2014). The Fourth District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida denies an insurer’s petition seeking review of the...more
After he was rear-ended by a driver without insurance, the plaintiff in Maslo v. Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance, No. B249271 (Cal. App. Ct. June 27, 2014) incurred $64,000 in medical expenses, but he filed a claim with his...more
Safeco Ins. Co. of Illinois v. Rader, No. 1D13-2659, 2014 WL 660204 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2014). After entry of partial summary judgment on UM claim, insured successfully moved to amend his complaint to add a...more