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Litigation

[08/15] 6 get Legionnaires' disease in upstate NY; 1 dies
[08/15] Jury rejects assault suit against Osteen's wife
[08/15] Court says copyrights apply even for free software
[08/15] Jackson Browne sues McCain, RNC over song in ad
[08/15] Trump to buy McMahon's home, let him live there

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Case Summaries

Insurance Law

[08/27] Fidelity and Guaranty Ins. Co. v. Star Equip. Corp.
In a dispute arising over a construction contract, enforcement of a settlement agreement and grant of summary judgment are affirmed where: 1) a hand-written agreement contemplated execution of a more formal agreement does not preclude enforcement of the hand-written agreement; 2) the terms of this settlement were clear and unambiguous; 3) there was no error in the district court's order enforcing the Settlement Memorandum of Agreement as a settlement agreement that disposed of all the claims in the case except the indemnification dispute; and 4) Fidelity is entitled to indemnification because defendants failed to present any material facts which would give rise to a factual dispute as to a 'want of good faith' on the part of Fidelity.

[08/26] Columbia Cas. Co. v. Georgia & Florida Railnet Inc.
Declaratory judgment that defendant-railroad had no coverage under an insurance policy issued by plaintiff for a former employee's claims of injury is affirmed where: 1) the matter was ripe for review despite ongoing proceedings in an underlying state suit; 2) plaintiff did not breach the policy by refusing to cover inhalation claims; 3) defendant was not prejudiced by plaintiff's allegedly delayed denial of coverage; and 4) defendant's denial of coverage was not a per se violation of the state insurance code.

[08/26] Fidelity and Guaranty Ins. Underwriters, Inc. v. Jasam Realty Corp.
In an insurance claims case related to a personal injury action, judgment for plaintiff-insurer is vacated and remanded where: 1) the district court's special verdict form permitted the jury to consider incorrect dates on which the veracity of the alleged misrepresentations could be judged; and 2) the court did not correct the error when invited by the jury to clarify the matter

[08/26] Della Dial v. Healthspring of Alabama, Inc.
In an appeal presenting the question of whether a complaint about conduct regulated by the Medicare Act filed in a state court may be removed to a federal court, denial of plaintiffs' motion to remand is reversed and remanded where: 1) because the plaintiffs' action is not a "civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction," the action is not removable; and 2) the district court would lack subject-matter jurisdiction over their complaint because it is not against the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for review of an administrative decision.

[08/22] N. Am. Specialty Ins. Co. v. Royal Surplus Lines Ins. Co.
In a dispute between primary and excess insurers arising out of a tort suit against a nursing home, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) under state law the limits of insureds' consecutively-held primary insurance policies could not be "stacked" to create a higher primary policy limit and reduce plaintiff-excess insurer's obligation; 2) the anti-stacking rule also applied to defense costs under eroding policies; and 3) the defense costs could not be allocated based on whether they were incurred under the Commercial General Liability or the Hospital Professional Liability portions of the policies.

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