Insurance Law Commons^™

Frivolous Defenses, Thomas D. Russell

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article is about civil procedure, torts, insurance, litigation, and professional ethics. The Article is the opening article in a conversation with Stanford Law Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, who has written about the plaintiffs’ bar and settlement mill attorneys. The empirical center of this piece examines 356 answers to 298 car crash personal injury cases in Colorado’s district courts. The Article situates these cases within dispute pyramid elements, including the total number of miles-traveled within Colorado and the volume of civil litigation. The Article then analyzes the defense attorneys’ departures from the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, especially Rule 8. …

Hard Battles Over Soft Law: The Troubling Implications Of Insurance Industry Attacks On The American Law Institute Restatement Of The Law Of Liability Insurance, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Cleveland State Law Review

ALI Restatements of the Law have traditionally exerted significant influence over court decisions and the development of the common law. During the past two decades, however, the ALI has seen an upsurge in interest group activity designed to shape or even thwart aspects of the Institute’s work. Most recently, the Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance (RLLI) has been the focus of not only criticism of particular provisions but a concerted effort by members of the insurance industry to demonize the project as a whole and bar use of the document by courts.

The vehemence of insurer opposition seems …

One Fund Solution And The Pension Crisis, Gordon Butler

Cleveland State Law Review

The next forty years of economic life will be dominated by one underlying theme: dealing with the retirement income security of a growing, aging and longer-lived global population. This is a "can’t run, can’t hide" problem that will affect the lives of almost every human being on the planet . . . Whether you are light in your pension account, whether you have more money than Croesus, whether you live in the well-funded Netherlands, or whether you are a put-upon unambitious young male in Japan who sees no future for himself, you cannot escape this problem.

Before you read very …

The Mccarran-Ferguson Act's Intersection With Foreign Insurance Companies, Angela D. Krupar

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note is designed to answer a simple question: must insurance companies incorporated in foreign countries follow the same rules as their competitors incorporated in this country? More specifically, it addresses whether the McCarran-Ferguson Act should reach foreign insurance companies and foreign commerce.

Use Of Colossus To Measure The General Damages Of A Personal Injury Claim Demonstrates Good Faith Claims Handling, Dawn R. Bonnett

Cleveland State Law Review

Because the law of bad faith is the most volatile of the causes of action, this Note will discuss how using Colossus demonstrates good faith claims handling by insurance companies. Initially, this Note will discuss how Colossus works so readers have an understanding of the product. Following the Colossus section, the Note will discuss the history of bad faith. Finally, this Note will analyze how Colossus assists insurers in meeting the different good faith standards across the nation.

Lovewell V. Physicians Insurance Co.: Personal Liability For Prejudgment Interest , Karin Mika

Cleveland State Law Review

This article discusses the Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Lovewell by walking through the case from trial court to the final Supreme Court decision. The case raises many issues regarding the future of litigation involving parties who refuse to settle pursuant to a contractual right. Although, on the surface, it would appear that the court clarified what entity would ultimately be responsible for paying a prejudgment interest award, its failure to address other issues left open the potential for future litigation concerning the traditional relationship between the insurer and the insured. While Lovewell does not necessarily mean the death knell …

Holt V. Grange Mutual Casualty Co.: Children Not Insureds Under Policy Are Entitled To Death Benefits , Barbara J. Tyler, Thomas S. Tyler

Cleveland State Law Review

The automobile insurance industry is up in arms after a decade of consumer friendly Ohio Supreme Court decisions. The insurance industry and commentators have noted the trend of judicial activism in interpreting insurance contracts. These decisions have been overwhelmingly in favor of consumers and against insurance companies. The Ohio Supreme Court decision of Holt v. Grange Mutual Casualty Co., is another consumer friendly decision and represents both an equitable and sound interpretation and application of Ohio law to consumer insurance contracts. This note walks through the Holt case, starting at the trial court level and working up through the Ohio …

The Medicaid Cost Crisis: Are There Solutions To The Financial Problems Facing Middle-Class Americans Who Require Long-Term Health Care, Kenneth Hubbard

Cleveland State Law Review

Medicaid was originally designed as a welfare program to provide healthcare to the poor. Despite the initial intentions of Congress, Medicaid has instead become "a multi-billion-dollar insurance policy" for elderly middle-class Americans who require long-term health care. The Medicaid crisis has been described as "a battle between elderly people's desire for long-term care coverage and their concomitant reluctance to pay for it themselves." This battle is waged between the older and younger generations, commencing when the younger generation observes that their inheritance is growing smaller or disappearing altogether due to the immense cost of their parents' long-term health care.

Unknown Effects Of Wood V. Shepard On Uninsured And Underinsured Motorist Coverage In Ohio, Gary D. Plunkett

Cleveland State Law Review

The Ohio Supreme Court in Wood v. Shepard had occasion to interpret Ohio's wrongful death statute in conjunction with Ohio's uninsured and underinsured motorist statute (UUM). The court held that the wrongful death of an insured creates separate claims that are not subject to a single person limit of liability in the deceased insured's UUM coverage. Wood is a nebulous decision. It overcompensates the deceased insured's surviving family members and turns the deceased insured's UUM coverage into a bottomless well from which the surviving family members may draw compensation. The full effect of Wood is yet unknown. What is known, …

Liability Of Parents For The Willful Torts Of Their Children Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3109.09, Stuart A. Laven

Cleveland State Law Review

This article will examine four issues which the practitioner may face in handling litigation under Section 3109.09, which imposes liability on the parents of children who willfully damage the property of another: whether the statute extends to a "taking" of property; whether the term "parents" includes others who have custody and control of a minor; whether an insurance company as a subrogated plaintiff may maintain an action under the statute; and, finally, whether parents of the minor wrongdoer are provided with coverage under their homeowners policy in an action brought against them under Section 3109.09.

The Demise Of The Declaratory Judgment Action As A Device For Testing The Insurer's Duty To Defend: A Postscript, J. Patrick Browne

Cleveland State Law Review

For years the conflict of interest problem that occasionally arose out of the defense of an insured by his liability carrier denying coverage under the policy was, for the most part ignored. Now, within the last decade, it has surfaced as one of the most litigated questions in the field of insurance law. In the last issue of this Review, this author attempted an exegesis of Motorists Mutual Insurance Co. v. Trainor, then the latest pronouncement on the subject by the Supreme Court of Ohio. Soon after that article was published, the Supreme Court again addressed itself to the problem …

The Demise Of The Declaratory Judgment Action As A Device For Testing The Insurer's Duty To Defend, J. Patrick Browne

Cleveland State Law Review

When a liability insurer defends claims brought against its insured, its interests frequently come in conflict with those of the insured. Over the years, courts and litigants have attempted to alleviate or eliminate this problem by several methods: providing the insured with independent counsel to represent his interests; a declaratory judgment action to test the insurer's duty to defend; direct actions by the injured claimant against the insurance company; and through the imposition on the insurer of an absolute duty to defend with a reserved right to test coverage at a later date. The second of these four methods the …

Lawyers' Professional Liability Insurance, Donald J. Ladanyi

Cleveland State Law Review

Due to the nature of his profession, the practicing lawyer is invariably confronted with significant financial risks. Because of the growing number of claims for professional negligence, coupled with the fact that the monetary risk of claims is largely unmeasurable, a constantly increasing proportion of lawyers is considering the feasibility of professional liability insurance protection. This type of insurance offers not only financial security, but also a means for the advantageous and efficient settlement of just claims without damaging notoriety.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage, Company Insolvency, And The Ohio Insurance Guaranty Association Act, Mario C. Ciano

Cleveland State Law Review

It is not often that a legislative event and a happenstance of life converge almost simultaneously upon a specific and narrow issue of law. This is precisely what occurred in Ohio in the latter part of 1970. In that year, the legislature amended the Ohio Uninsured Motorist Statute to declare, in effect, that a vehicle would be considered "uninsured" when the company insuring that vehicle for some reason became financially insolvent. The amendment became effective October 1, 1970. That same year the legislature enacted legislation to provide a fund from which claims could be paid in the eventuality that an …

Limitless Horizons Of Limited Policies Of Insurance, Harry H. Lipsig

Cleveland State Law Review

Limited policies have limitless horizons due to the selfishness of insurers. Why should insurers accept settlement offers that are close to the policy limits? After all, in most instances the insurers have nothing to lose except the insureds' money. Gambling with insureds' funds has led many to suggest that insurers be absolutely liable for all excess judgments subsequent to a rejection of settlement.

Set-Off Under Uninsured Motorist's Coverage, Leon M. Plevin

Cleveland State Law Review

The limits of liability under uninsured motorist coverage are fixed either by policy provisions or by statute. ... These various indemnity provisions were created so as to effectively limit any payments made by the insurance carrier under the uninsured motorist endorsement in combination with any other sources of indemnification to the maximum limit of the uninsured motorist coverage. The intent of the insurance underwriter is to limit its payment under the uninsured motorist coverage to the minimum amount where the insured is indemnified or partially indemnified from more than one source. The scope of this paper will specifically be concerned …

Insurance Subrogation In Auto Medical Payments Coverage, Walter A. Rodgers

Cleveland State Law Review

It is unnecessary to elaborate on the other major differences between the two policies as this study will be confined to a discussion of the provisions of the Medical Payments Coverage with an analysis of the treatment these provisions have received by various courts, and more particularly, to resolving the question of whether the subrogation of medical expenses by automobile insurers is an assignment of a bodily injury claim.

Arbitration, Statute Of Limitations, And Uninsured Motorist Endorsements, Leona M. Hudak

Cleveland State Law Review

Except in California, uninsured motorist statutes do not provide for any specified period within which the injured must file his damages. The uninsured motorist coverage clauses in policies have likewise been silent on the subject .A controversy has arisen as to whether the (usually) shorter negligence (tort) statute of limitations or the longer contract time limit governs. The controversy can be readily resolved: either the insurers express a specific time period in their uninsured motorist endorsements within which their injured insureds must file their complaints; or state legislatures should amend their uninsured motorist coverage statutes to contain such express provision, …

Competition As A Means Of Regulating Insurance, Jason C. Blackford

Cleveland State Law Review

The sole thesis of this paper is that competition among insurers, tempered by state supervision of their financial control, is a workable alternative to active state control of the business of insurance. It is not the purpose of this analysis to question the basic concept and the workability of affirmative government control of insurance. To test this thesis, a case study will be made of the rating process used in the business of automobile liability insurance in the State of Ohio.

Uninsured Motorist Defined, Henry A. Hentemann

Cleveland State Law Review

An attempt will be made to explore the court interpretations of the standard policy definition of "uninsured automobile." However, when reviewing such, three basic consider-tions must be borne in mind. One is that many states have so-called uninsured motorist statutes which contain purpose and intent sections upon which the courts may have relied in allowing a liberal construction to achieve the purpose intended by the legislature. The second is that simple contract law, without statutory influence, requires that the words employed be given their plain and commonly understood meaning. Thirdly, however, any ambiguity in an insurance contract, it being a …

Title Insurance Aspects Of Tort Liability, Dean T. Lemley

Cleveland State Law Review

By reason of the adequate damages recoverable in contract by the insured, and because of safeguards of ethics and efficient methods of title examinations, underwriting practices, and sophisticated systems of document storage and retrieval, it would appear that tort liability will not become prevalent in the title industry. Since law is disposed to follow the needs of society, rather than to anticipate them, it seems logical that actions in tort liability will not be needed.

Avoidance Of P.I. Releases For Mutual Mistake: Recent Cases, Franklin Stafford Wearn Ii

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this article is to determine the factors which currently persuade courts to set aside releases under the doctrine of mutual mistake. Therefore, cases involving fraud, misrepresentation, overreaching, or unilateral mistake are outside the scope, except as they shed light on the doctrine's application. We shall consider first those cases where there is thought to be no personal injury at the time of releasing, and then those where some personal injury is known, but where it could be said that there exists a material unknown injury. Let it be noted that, as will be shown, if the releasor …

Payment Of Punitive Damages By Insurance Companies, Martin G. Lentz

Cleveland State Law Review

The logic and validity of the public policy argument that to require insurance companies to pay punitive damages would place a burden upon the innocent insurance carrier, and ultimately the public itself, is weak and indefensible. The concern for not wanting to punish the insurance carrier, an innocent party, is not logical since any insurance company is an innocent party. The involvement is based on the contractual relationship of indemnification. If an insurance company does not wish to indemnify for punitive damages, then it should specifically exclude such coverage in the policy. In the absence of such a specific exclusion, …

Misrepresentation In Application For Liability Insurance, Julien C. Renswick

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this paper is discussion of the defenses available to the insured when the insurer attempts forfeiture of a liability policy, particularly auto accident liability, for alleged misrepresentation at the time of application by the insured.

What Should Be In A Malpractice Insurance Policy, Sidney Franklin

Cleveland State Law Review

The malpractice insurance policy, also known as Professional Liability Policy, should precisely delineate the coverage, whether partnership or individual, the exact period of the coverage, the exclusions and limitations, the type of practice, the exact premium and the cancellation procedure.

Insurance Companies' Liability For The Acts Of Agents, Kenneth Montlack

Cleveland State Law Review

The formerly prevalent view that a party to an insurance contract is bound by his representations in all respects has been modified. Today, an increasing variety of acts or declarations by the insurance agent will shift the liability to the insurance company. The company is held to be estopped from pleading the insured's contract violations which were due to the actions of the insurer's agents. Because the general rules of agency apply to insurance agents, the company is responsible for those acts of a licensed agent performed within the scope of his authority.Thus the two problem areas in determining the …

Duty Of Attorney Appointed By Liability Insurance Company, Jerry Brodsky

Cleveland State Law Review

This article examines the right of a liability insurer to control the defense of its insured, the duty owed to him in defending or settling an action brought against him, and liability for negligence in defending the suit. Special attention is given to the conflict of interests which may confront an attorney retained by an insurance company to defend an action brought against a policyholder.

Insurer's Failure To Settle, John L. Heaslip

Cleveland State Law Review

When one purchases a liability insurance policy he is contracting with the insurer for the insurer to stand in his place and to pay all liability claims brought against the insured for which the insured is legally liable. In essence, the risk of financial loss is transferred from the shoulders of the insured to those of the insurer, to the extent of the policy limits. The rights and duties of the parties created by a typical automobile liability policy are clearly stated in the policy.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage, Henry A. Hentemann

Cleveland State Law Review

This article is concerned with the insurance contract that provides this unique coverage and the legal problems that surround some of its major provisions. Many of these, however, are not yet fully resolved. This is due to the relatively early stage of its development and to the fact that existing decisions are too few and too fragmentary to permit a statement of controlling rules or principless Nevertheless, the problems will be posed and the principles of law and the cases will be explored. The article will concern itself with the right of subrogation, the arbitration clause and the applicable statute …

Insurance Company Interference In Personal Injury Law Practice, Sheldon E. Baskin

Cleveland State Law Review

The cloak of immunity that the insurance companies wear, and the fact that recently a trend has been noticed encouraging settlements, results in attorneys, finding their just fees diminished by the interference of third persons not in privity with the attorney-client contract, being compelled to find other means of redressing the wrongs thus perpetrated against them.