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Court Examines Producer's Role in Processing Inaccurate Online Application
By Edward F. Donohue III., Esq. of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Douglas et al. v. Fidelity National Insurance Co., 2014 WL 4261346 (Cal.App. 8/29/14).
A California Court reversed an $800,000 fire loss recovery on the grounds that an independent agent may have effectively acted as the policyholder's broker in submitting an inaccurate online application. In that event the court suggested the property insurer Fidelity National Insurance Co. would likely be entitled to rescind the policy.
Under the Right Circumstances, an Insured Entitled to "Independent Counsel" in California Can Retain More Than One Firm
By Carey B. Moorehead, Esq. of Wilson Elser
In a case of first impression, a California District Court has ruled that California law does not preclude an insured from retaining multiple law firms as independent or Cumis counsel where the insurer is defending under reservation of rights. The court's ruling came in the case of Signal Products v. American Zurich Insurance Company, et al., U.S. District Court, Central District of California No. 2:13-cv-04581 - CAS-AJWx.
Medical Professional Negligence - What's In A Name? If You're The Plaintiff, It Doesn't Matter
By Wendy R.S. O'Connor, Esq. of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, P.C.
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Key Points:
- A plaintiff may proceed on a claim of medical professional negligence against a corporate health care provider even absent the identification of specific individuals whose conduct is imputed to the corporate health care provider.
- A plaintiff must still establish at trial that the corporate health care provider's "staff" breached a duty owed to the plaintiff, although it is not clear whether the plaintiff must identify specific individuals at trial, or prior thereto, in order to avoid summary judgment.
- In considering the viability of a plaintiff's corporate liability claims, the trial court must not limit its analysis to the four bases of liability identified in Thompson v. Nason Hospital, but it must also consider the factors enumerated in §322 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts and in Scampone and Althaus.
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You Get Sick Leave, I Get Sick Leave, Everyone Gets Sick Leave in California
By Nicole Davis Tinkham, Esq. of Collins, Collins Muir + Stewart LLP
On July 1, 2015, California becomes the second state in the nation to guarantee paid sick leave for nearly all employees. The new law will be known as the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014. This law will require all employers, with very few exceptions, to update their handbooks and institute a new record-keeping policy for their employees.
California Supreme Court Rules On Insurer's Duty to Defend Disparagement Claims
By Marc Zimet, Esq. of Jampol Zimet LLP
On June 12, 2014 the California Supreme Court decided what constitutes disparagement under a commercial general liability policy in Hartford Casualty Insurance v. Swift Distribution, Inc. Its findings clarify what constitutes disparagement within the meaning of an insurance policy, as well as when an insurer's duty to defend is triggered.
