REAL ESTATE: Freddie Mac, as possessor of property where Plaintiff fell through basement access, had duty to use ordinary care in maintaining the property in a reasonably safe condition and warn of hidden/lurking damages… unrelated buyer’s agents who had previously seen the opening did not have a duty… Molloy. [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…]
Insurance/vacatur, “equitable balancing,” Ridley
INSURANCE/VACATUR: “Equitable balancing” should be applied to determine whether Ridley ruling in favor of insurer should be vacated following insured’s confession of judgment on appeal in excess of policy limits, to preclude adverse impact on separate common law bad faith claims… Cebull reversed (unpublished). [Read more…]
Insurance, ESOP, $29 million stipulated judgment
INSURANCE: Defense of corporate officers in grocery chain ESOP litigation was tendered when insurer on notice in federal litigation and repeated requests for payment of defense costs in state action, insurer had duty to defend, policy not one of mere indemnification of defense costs, breached duty by [Read more…]
Defense verdict, med-mal, breast cancer
VERDICT: Defense, medical malpractice, alleged mammogram misreading leading to double mastectomy. [Read more…]
Negligence, wind-blown sign injury, duty
NEGLIGENCE: Contractual obligations of project engineer in town wastewater project did not include duty to see that sign that was [Read more…]
Financial institution bond, participant banks
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION BOND: Participant banks did not present evidence that they or authorized rep had “actual [Read more…]
Medical malpractice, anesthesia delay
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: At least one anesthesiologist “immediately available” during emergency c-section that resulted in brain-damaged twin… claim of failure to deliver timely anesthesia properly rejected on summary judgment for failure to produce expert testimony of breach of [Read more…]
Jurisdiction, kit airplane, death crash
JURISDICTION properly not found over out-of-state manufacturers/sellers of kit airplane and components that crashed in Montana… no personal jurisdiction by mere placing products into stream of commerce… jurisdictional discovery properly denied… Salvagni affirmed. [Read more…]