Punishing Common Courtesy
Who’s At Fault When One Driver Waves To Another Driver That It Is All Clear – And It Isn’t? Thomas Fuller once said, “All doors open to courtesy.” It appears that this may now include the courthouse door. Heavy traffic …
Slumlord Subrogation: Subrogating Landlord/Tenant Property Losses
In the 2003 Miramax comedy Duplex, Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore are Brooklyn landlords to a pesky, rent-controlled tenant named Mrs. Connelly, played by Eileen Essell. Efforts to get rid of Connelly fail and the tenant’s careless actions cause a …
Liability for Allowing Drunk Driving: The Death of Personal Responsibility?
It used to be that friends wouldn’t let friends drive drunk because they cared about their friends. Today, it’s become a legal obligation. In the 1998 Seinfeld series finale, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer witness a car-jacking and rather than …
When is A Vehicle Considered a Total Loss?
When and whether a vehicle involved in a collision is considered to be “totaled” for first-party insurance purposes is an issue of great angst and confusion for most consumers. We hear horror stories about older, functioning automobiles being “totaled” simply …
Florida Supreme Court Limits Economic Loss Doctrine to Product Liability Cases
In what will go down in legal history as one of the clearest and most forthright decisions in recent memory, the Florida Supreme Court has issued an opinion which limits the application of the Economic Loss Doctrine (ELD) to cases …
New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Assignment of Subrogation Interest Ineffective
Urban legends and old wives’ tales are everywhere. If you eat within an hour of swimming, you will get cramps. Chocolate causes acne. Carrots improve your vision. You can catch a cold by standing outside in the cold. You can …
Understanding Comparative Fault, Contributory Negligence and Joint & Several Liability
Effective subrogation requires a thorough understanding of some of the more confusing legal terms we must all work with. Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. has compiled a list of the various laws in every state dealing with whether the state …
Gathering Pebbles: Subrogation’s Burden of Proof
The recent New York Supreme Court decision of American International Ins. Co. v. A. Steinman Plumbing & Heating Corp., 2012 WL 952782 (N.Y. App. 2012) and an ancient parable wouldn’t seem to have a lot in common. But, they do. …
Vandalism, Fire Losses and the Doctrine of ‘Inferred Intent’
Property subrogation professionals routinely see cases involving fires caused by uninsured minors playing in buildings. Subrogation is the business of recovering money, not punishing delinquent children. Often carriers won’t pursue subrogation cases against uninsured minors for fear of throwing good …
West Fertilizer Company Explosion in Texas and the Role of Experts
The Importance Of NFPA 921 In Fire And Explosion Subrogation On April 17, 2013, a fire of as-of-yet-undetermined origin at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas ignited as much as 270 tons of ammonium nitrate being stored at the …