CONVERSION claim by exclusive insurance agency upon termination for fraud viable under contract rather than secured transactions law under Allstate’s alternate universe governing agency relationships… Lympus reversed. [Read more…]
Medical damages, billed v. paid by insurer
MEDICAL DAMAGES: Actual amounts billed to deceased tort victim admissible, not limited to amounts actually paid by Medicare/BCBS… reasonableness of bills as measure of damages to be determined by the jury… Defendants may contest reasonableness, Plaintiff may counter with what Medicare pays to other providers… order admitting only evidence of amounts insurers paid violates collateral source rule… supervisory control of Oldenburg granted. [Read more…]
Rape, post-trial victim statements
RAPE: Untimely motion for new trial based on woman’s impost-trial statements that she remembered urinating on herself and could not feel below waist contradicting trial testimony that fluid was vaginal should have been granted because of reasonable probability of different outcome of trial of alleged digital massage rape, not left to postconviction consideration… Dayton reversed. [Read more…]
Inverse condemnation, subdivision steep slope
INVERSE CONDEMNATION: Remedy for taking/ damage claim resulting from City’s alleged improvident approval of subdivision and building permit on steep slope does not pass to property owners who purchased after the approvals… Ulbricht. [Read more…]
Insurance, duty to defend, stipulated judgment
INSURANCE: Court correctly found, without coverage analysis, that insurer breached duty to defend after recognizing policy potentially implicated, estopped from denying coverage… $29 million stipulated judgment improperly granted without [Read more…]
Arbitration, home construction contract
ARBITRATION clause in home construction contract enforceable… Ulbricht reversed. [Read more…]
Employee benefits, sick leave payout termination
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: Employer handbook not standardized group employment contract, sick leave bank payout terminable at any time… accrued leave not vested for employees with under 25 years, not deferred compensation or wages under Wage Act… Curtis affirmed. [Read more…]
Defense verdict, snowplow/auto
VERDICT: Defense, snowplow/auto, neck/back/shoulder/hand pain. [Read more…]
Class action, Allstate CCPR
CLASS ACTION properly certified as to Allstate’s CCPR program following remand, but class-wide punitives inappropriate, remanded for class trial to determine if application of CCPR to class violated UTPA, if so to determine if Allstate should be [Read more…]
Insurance, umbrella, family member exclusion
INSURANCE: Umbrella household exclusion correctly found to unambiguously exclude wife’s claim as passenger in vehicle driven by husband, not violative of reasonable expectations or [Read more…]