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Full-Text Articles in Law

A Light At The End Of The Tunnell?: The Parameters Of Uninsured Motorist Coverage Coverage In Wrongful Death Cases, Edward Wittrig Jun 2015

A Light At The End Of The Tunnell?: The Parameters Of Uninsured Motorist Coverage Coverage In Wrongful Death Cases, Edward Wittrig

Missouri Law Review

As a result, the implementation, application, and interpretation of this important piece of legislation has been left largely to the providence of the Missouri judicial system. When faced with litigation surrounding the UM statute, Missouri courts have often broadly interpreted the statute, extending its coverage to a large class of insureds as well as increasing the maximum amount of recovery possible. Additionally, insurers have often struggled to obtain favorable decisions in Missouri courts, especially in cases appealed to the Supreme Court of Missouri, and have failed to establish a concrete boundary that limits the scope and extent of UM coverage. …


Property Insurance Appraisal: Is Determining Causation Essential To Evaluating The Amount Of Loss , Ashley Smith Jul 2012

Property Insurance Appraisal: Is Determining Causation Essential To Evaluating The Amount Of Loss , Ashley Smith

Journal of Dispute Resolution

While the appraisal procedure is commonly used in property insurance claims, the scope of an appraisal is contested. Courts are divided on whether to allow the determination of causation within an appraisal process. Whether or not to allow the determination of causation in appraisal and the reasoning behind each position can be influential for the majority of state and federal courts who have yet to confront this issue. Outlined below is an overview of the appraisal process within the property insurance context, a distinction of causation from coverage, and courts’ reasoning for allowing or forbidding the determination of causation in …


Too Much Risk: The Impact Of Class Action Lawsuits On Claims Made Insurance Policies, Sean A. Smith Nov 2009

Too Much Risk: The Impact Of Class Action Lawsuits On Claims Made Insurance Policies, Sean A. Smith

Missouri Law Review

The dispute between H & R Block and its excess policy insurers presented the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit with an issue of national first impression: does the existence of a series of class action lawsuits prior to the enactment of a claims made insurance policy make it reasonably foreseeable that similar future claims will be filed? 14 The Eighth Circuit's ultimate decision in H & R Block, Inc. v. American International Specialty Lines Insurance Co. will impact insurance coverage of major corporations nationally, in both the narrow context of the upcoming wave of lawsuits against …


Made Whole Doctrine: Unraveling The Enigma Wrapped In The Mystery Of Insurance Subrogation, The, Johnny C. Parker Jun 2005

Made Whole Doctrine: Unraveling The Enigma Wrapped In The Mystery Of Insurance Subrogation, The, Johnny C. Parker

Missouri Law Review

Application of the doctrine of subrogation often occurs at the expense of the insured. As a result, the common law developed the made whole doctrine, which limits the use of subrogation prior to an insured party receiving full compensation for damages. The primary purpose of this article is to explore the made whole doctrine as the principal weapon used by contemporary courts to curb the harsh effect of contractual subrogation on the rights of the insured. Section I of this article provides an overview of the expansion and use of subrogation in various types of insurance contracts. Section II examines …


Insurance Aspects Of Damages, The, Douglas R. Richmond, Robert H. Jerry Ii Jan 2004

Insurance Aspects Of Damages, The, Douglas R. Richmond, Robert H. Jerry Ii

Journal of Dispute Resolution

"[I]t is difficult ... to imagine an event or transaction that does not involve insurance in some way."' So it is with the most salient event in the lives of Tony and Donna Sabia, whose son Tony John Sabia, or "Little Tony," was born with profound disabilities. In the final analysis, the ability of Tony and Donna to pay for the future medical care and living expenses needed by their son depends on whether they can reach the liability insurance coverage possessed by the health care providers who attended Donna and Little Tony at the time of his birth. It …


Life Insurance As Security For A Debt And The Applicability Of The Rule Against Wager Contracts, John M. Limbaugh Jun 1999

Life Insurance As Security For A Debt And The Applicability Of The Rule Against Wager Contracts, John M. Limbaugh

Missouri Law Review

Every jurisdiction has a rule against wager contracts, developed to discourage speculation in human life and attendant moral hazard.2 In the life insurance context, the rule in Missouri prohibiting wager contracts applies only "where a policy is taken out by, and premiums paid by, a person who has no insurable interest in the life of the insured, or when a policy has been assigned for speculative purposes."3 The Missouri Supreme Court, in Estate of Bean v. Hazel, correctly limited the creditor's recovery on the debtor's life insurance policy to the amount of the debt, plus interest. However, in doing so, …


Bifurcations Of Consciousness: The Elimination Of The Self-Induced Intoxication Excuse, Derrick Augustus Carter Apr 1999

Bifurcations Of Consciousness: The Elimination Of The Self-Induced Intoxication Excuse, Derrick Augustus Carter

Missouri Law Review

In early American and English common law, intoxication evidence did not excuse or mitigate criminal behavior.! Any person who destroyed his or her volition through intoxication was equally as culpable as a sober person for the legal consequences of a self-induced vice.2 Voluntary drunkenness aggravated, rather than reduced, criminal liability


Liability Insurers Get A Fair Deal, James E. Berger Jan 1994

Liability Insurers Get A Fair Deal, James E. Berger

Missouri Law Review

Public policy does not allow insurance against the results of intentional acts. Thus, most liability insurance contracts contain a clause that excludes coverage for bodily injury or property damage intended or expected as a result of an insured's actions These clauses are generally referred to as "intentional acts exclusion clauses" or "intentional injury exclusion clauses." The real question in all cases is what the insurer must show to invoke the exclusion. There are two basic requirements: (1) The act done was intended; and (2) there was some intent for the act to cause injury. Most courts agree that the act …


Arbitration - Sure, But Only On Our Terms: Escape Clauses In Uninsured Motorist Policies - Schaefer V. Allstate Ins. Co., Steven R. Leppard Jan 1993

Arbitration - Sure, But Only On Our Terms: Escape Clauses In Uninsured Motorist Policies - Schaefer V. Allstate Ins. Co., Steven R. Leppard

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Historically, the insurance industry has widely used arbitration to resolve disputes.2 Insurance companies have increasingly included "escape clauses" in their policies.' These clauses allow an insurance company to ignore an arbitrator's award and have a claim directly heard in a trial court if the award exceeds a pre-determined amount.' The Ohio Supreme Court in Schaefer v. Allstate Insurance Co. addressed this issue and decided that the escape clause was unenforceable due to public policy.'


Knocking Out Motor Vehicle Insurance Household Exclusions: Does The Financial Responsibility Law Cover All Bases, David A. Dick Nov 1992

Knocking Out Motor Vehicle Insurance Household Exclusions: Does The Financial Responsibility Law Cover All Bases, David A. Dick

Missouri Law Review

This Note discusses the issues presented by the conflicts between Missouri's Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, a legislative act intended to provide compensation for persons injured in vehicular accidents, and contractual exclusion clauses contained in motor vehicle liability insurance policies. A "household" or "family" exclusion clause, the type of liability insurance contract exclusion at issue in Halpin, typically states that no coverage exists for any obligation an insured may have to a member of the insured's family who is residing in the same household as the insured.' The household exclusion is designed to eliminate coverage when one family member's negligence …


Arbitration Awards In Uninsured And Underinsured Motorist Insurance Provisions: Which Public Policy To Apply - Mendes V. Automobile Insurance Co. Of Hartford, L. Dean Wilson Jul 1990

Arbitration Awards In Uninsured And Underinsured Motorist Insurance Provisions: Which Public Policy To Apply - Mendes V. Automobile Insurance Co. Of Hartford, L. Dean Wilson

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This Note examines how the Connecticut Supreme Court handled a case involving an automobile insurance policy that called for arbitration of disputes concerning uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, but allowed either party to demand a trial de novo if unsatisfied With the arbitration award.