Insurer Has Duty To Defend Even Though Insured Did Not Immediately Notify Insurer Of Underlying Lawsuit
Posted on Jun 30, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Insurer Has Duty To Defend Even Though Insured Did Not Immediately Notify Insurer Of Underlying Lawsuit
The United States sued Company A for discharging pollutants from an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico in February 2013 after giving notice to Company A of the alleged violations in March 2012. Company A failed to give notice to its insurer of the potential violations until September 2013 despite an insurance policy that required “immediate notice” of any occurrence that gave...
Insurance Company’s Privilege Claims Fall Victim To Crime-Fraud Exception In Colorado Federal Court
Posted on Jun 26, 2015 in Investigations, Litigation | Comments Off on Insurance Company’s Privilege Claims Fall Victim To Crime-Fraud Exception In Colorado Federal Court
Earlier this month, a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, relying on the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege, significantly curtailed an insurance company’s claims of privilege. While working in the course and scope of his employment, Person A was killed in a vehicle accident by a car driven by Person B. Person A’s estate...
Most Claims Against Manufacturer Of Chemical Leaked Into West Virginia Water Supply To Proceed
Posted on Jun 19, 2015 in Construction, Energy/Environmental, Product Liability | Comments Off on Most Claims Against Manufacturer Of Chemical Leaked Into West Virginia Water Supply To Proceed
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia determined earlier this month that the bulk of private plaintiffs’ claims against the manufacturer of the chemical that leaked into the Elk River and contaminated the Charleston-area water supply could continue. The plaintiffs generally contended that the chemical manufacturer failed to warn of the dangers...
Texas High Court Clarifies Employers’ Duty To Warn Employees Of Open And Obvious Dangers
Posted on Jun 15, 2015 in Litigation | Comments Off on Texas High Court Clarifies Employers’ Duty To Warn Employees Of Open And Obvious Dangers
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Texas clarified its premises liability doctrine in response to a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Subject to two narrow exceptions, the court held that employers do not have a duty to warn or protect their employees from dangerous premises conditions that are “open and obvious” or “known” to the employee. The...
Workers’ Case Alleging Harms By Government Contractor From Coal Ash Clean-up Still Alive
Posted on Jun 6, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation | Comments Off on Workers’ Case Alleging Harms By Government Contractor From Coal Ash Clean-up Still Alive
Earlier this week, the Sixth Circuit joined an existing circuit split when holding that a government contractor’s immunity as a corollary of the discretionary-function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Construction Co., 309 U.S. 18 (1940)), is not jurisdictional. In the case, following a...
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