Law Commons^™

Insurance At The Energy-Water Nexus, Donald T. Hornstein

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Health Care Law, Kathleen M. Mccauley, Kristi L. Vanderlaan

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. V. Campbell: Refining Bmw Of North America, Inc. V. Gore And Further Restricting Punitive Damages, Bridget E. Leonard

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Health Care Law, Peter M. Mellette, Emily W. G. Towey, J. Vaden Hunt

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Incalculable Risk: How The World Trade Center Disaster Accelerated The Evolution Of Insurance Terrorism Exclusions, Jane Kendall

University of Richmond Law Review

"The deliberate and deadly attacks, which were carried out yesterday against our country, were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war."

- President George W. Bush, September 12, 2001.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Insurance Law, J. Douglas Cuthbertson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article discusses judicial decisions and various legislation that have affected the law of insurance in Virginia since June 1, 2000. As in years past, most of the changes have taken place in the area of uninsured/underinsured motorist ('"JAVUIM") insurance coverage. This article will discuss these developments as well as those in other areas of insurance law-specifically, those pertaining to agents, coverage, the insurer's duty to defend, fire insurance, life insurance, misrepresentation, and waiver and estoppel.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Insurance Law, Terrence L. Graves, J. Douglas Cuthbertson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article reviews the changes in Virginia insurance law that have occurred in the past two years. Most of the developments have been in motor vehicle liability and uninsured/underinsured motorist ("VM/UIM") coverage. But the article also surveys cases on bad faith, fire insurance, insurance regulation, life insurance, motor vehicle medical expense insurance, and waiver and estoppel.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Insurance Law, Terrence L. Graves

University of Richmond Law Review

This article will summarize and discuss case decisions and statutory changes in the field of insurance law that have taken place over the last two years. As in years past, most of the cases involve automobile coverage, particularly uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Other areas covered by this article include the following: liability insurance, automobile medical payments coverage, insurance regulation, fire insurance, and homeowners insurance.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Lack Of An Insurable Interest Preclude An Insurance Agent From Taking An Absolute Assignment Of His Client's Life Policy?, Johnny C. Parker

University of Richmond Law Review

To understand any concept it helps to know the purposes it serves and the objectives it seeks to achieve. The maxim that one "must have an insurable interest in the life or property insured" has haunted insurance law for centuries. This doctrine conditions both the validity and enforceability of insurance contracts upon the existence of an insurable interest in the person who purchases the policy. The considerations which underlie the insurable interest requirement are generally expressed in terms of public policy: (1) against allowing wagering contracts; (2) against fostering temptation to destroy the insured property or life in an effort …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Insurance Law, Beverly W. Snukals, Fiona M. Tower

University of Richmond Law Review

This article addresses the significant case decisions and statutory changes in the past year in the field of insurance. Most of the cases involved automobile insurance coverage. Other cases involved insurance agent liability, duty of good faith to third party beneficiaries, and interpretation of general liability policies. The statutory changes were minor amendments to statutes dealing with medical payments coverage and cancellation of motor vehicle insurance policies.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Insurance Law, E. Lewis Kincer Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The Supreme Court of Virginia has recently decided several significant cases in the insurance realm. The court has been most active, at least in number of cases, in the field of uninsured [UM] and underinsured motorist [UIM] coverages, followed closely by decisions affecting automobile liability insurance policies. Although no clearly discernable trend appears to have been established by the court's insurance decisions in the past year, several observations may be made of the cases, as well as the court's general philosophy of judicial interpretation of insurance policies. "An insurance policy is a contract; therefore, we give the words used in …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: An Overview Of Automobile Liability Insurance In Virginia, Eileen N. Wagner, Jason W. Konvicka, Deborah M.B. Mcconnell

University of Richmond Law Review

Automobile liability insurance coverage is considered one of the basic necessities of modern living, following closely on the heels of shelter and food. This priority is the outgrowth of two facts of life: one, that automobile transportation is practically unavoidable and two, that automobile accidents are practically inevitable. Thus, the shadow of liability for the damage and the suffering of automobile accidents falls across most of the American population. Because the losses which may be sustained by the negligent-and the innocent alike-are so great, the need for protection has escalated to the top of modern society's list of indispensable commodities. …

Stacking Of Uninsured And Underinsured Motor Vehicle Coverages, John G. Douglass, Francis E. Telegadas

University of Richmond Law Review

Often, the first question asked by a plaintiff's attorney in evaluating a serious automobile accident case is, "How much insurance coverage is available?" That same question can pose perplexing issues for defense attorneys or insurance counsel in assessing a client's exposure to liability. In Virginia, these questions often re- quire the attorney to consider the application of Virginia's Uninsured Motorist statutes and the import of "stacking" of coverage.

Environmental Liens And Title Insurance, Robert S. Bozarth

University of Richmond Law Review

Increased concern for the environment and environmental protection laws have affected title insurance. To understand this effect, it is necessary to examine our environmental problems, the environmental laws and the nature of title insurance. This article also looks at the title insurance industry's reaction to these environmental risks as compared to the reaction of the property/casualty insurance industry.

Medical Malpractice Review Panels In Operation In Virginia, William H. Daughtrey Jr., Charles H. Smith

University of Richmond Law Review

The last major revision of Virginia statutes relating to medical malpractice was in 1976. At that time the General Assembly provided for medical malpractice review panels and mandated a method of reporting medical malpractice claims. These innovations were in response to a perceived medical malpractice crisis in the mid-1970's. A symptom of the crisis was the astronomical rise in the cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums. This increase plagued patients as well as physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers. The higher premiums, of course, were reflected in fees for services rendered by providers. In addition, providers began to practice …

The Impact Of Allstate Insurance Co. V. Hague On Constitutional Limitations On Choice Of Law, W. Clark Williams Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The development of constitutional limitations on choice of law by the United States Supreme Court has turned primarily on the due process clause and the full faith and credit clause of the United States Constitution. In theory at least, each constitutional provision rests upon separate grounds. The full faith and credit clause, as it applies to public acts, would compel a forum state under appropriate circumstances to honor the sovereignty of a foreign state in the federal system and to apply the law of the foreign state whose interests are sufficiently compelling. The due process clause limits the power of …

Insurer's Liability For Prejudgment Interest: A Modern Approach, David J. Pierce

University of Richmond Law Review

The term "prejudgment interest" denotes the interest on a judgment computed from the time of the actual injury to the date of the final judgment. It is interest on a sum of money which, until the rendering of final judgment, has not been declared to be damages for the plaintiff. Prejudgment interest is not punitive. It is better viewed as compensatory in nature because its purpose is to indemnify a claimant for the loss. of the money which presumably could have been earned had payment of damages not been delayed. Once a cause of action accrues, the injured party becomes …

Insurers' Liability For Excess Judgments In In Virginia: Negligence Or Bad Faith?, Barbara A. Dalvano

University of Richmond Law Review

Liability insurers have become increasingly concerned over the possibility that they may be responsible for satisfying excess judgments. This concern is justified. In Crisci v. Security Insurance Co., the California Supreme Court generated new developments in insurance law by predicating an insurer's liability for failing to settle claims against its insured upon a finding of mere negligence. Traditionally, an insurer was held liable for an excess judgment only if the insured was able to bear the burden of showing that the company acted in "bad faith" in failing to settle a claim. Virginia adopts this traditional view.

Primary Liability Under Excess Insurance Clauses: State Capital Insurance Co. V. Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire On Buildings, Paul K. Campsen

University of Richmond Law Review

Insurance is a contract by which the insurer undertakes to indemnify the insured against loss arising from the destruction of or injury to the insured's property as a result of certain causes. By its very nature an indemnity contract obligates the insurer to reimburse the insured for the amount of actual loss suffered by the insured. There are, however, situations in which multiple insurance coverage exists; that is, the same interest and the same risk are insured at the same time by more than one separate and distinct insurance contract, each presumably liable in the event of loss of or …

Recent Legislation, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1972 session of the General Assembly was especially active in the areas of wills, trusts, and estates. Much of this legislation deals with fine points not affecting the average lawyer in his practice. However, the following items of legislation should be of general interest to the attorney whose practice involves probate work or estate planning, even though he does not hold himself out as a specialist in these areas.

Insurance-Stacking-Multiple Recovery Permitted Under Single Policy Insuring More Than One Vehicle

University of Richmond Law Review

"Pyramiding" or "stacking" as applied to an automobile insurance policy covering more than one vehicle occurs when a claimant under the provisions of a policy is permitted to aggregate the limits of the units of coverage in that policy to satisfy a claim against the insurer. This enables a maximum possible recovery of a sum equal to the declared limits of the insurer's liability multiplied by the number of vehicles covered under the policy. The Virginia Supreme Court has previously applied the concept of stacking to a claim under the medical payments coverage provision of a multi-car policy. In two …

Book Reviews, Jack S. Shackleton, James R. Saul

University of Richmond Law Review

These are the book reviews from 1972.

Recent Legislation

University of Richmond Law Review

This is a list of the recent legislation from 1970.

Burden Of Proof For Recovery On Accident Policy Where The Defense Is Suicide-Virginia's Answer

University of Richmond Law Review

When the defense of suicide is raised in opposition to a claim for recovery on a life insurance policy, on a double indemnity provision for accidental death therein, or on an accident policy, courts are troubled by the allocation of the burden of proof. If the claim is made on a standard life insurance policy, suicide must be expressly excluded to be a valid defense. If so excluded, the defendant-insurer bears the burden of proving that the death was suicidal. On the other hand, if the claim for recovery is on an accident policy or on a double indemnity provision …

Basic Protection And The Future Of Negligence Law, Robert E. Keeton

University of Richmond Law Review

Coming to full flower only in the nineteenth century,' negligence law is still a tender young plant among the hardy redwoods of legal history. Yet the jeopardy in which it stands is due not to its youth but to its aging inflexibility-to its failure to adapt to the era of the automobile. This is not to say that its end is at hand. Rather, a future of some kind for negligence law seems assured. The questions in doubt are what kind and for how long. The surest way of causing it to be inglorious and brief is to continue to …