Insurance Law Commons^™

Book Review: Deforming Tort Reform, Joseph A. Page

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The storms buffeting the tort system over the past two decades have come in three distinct waves. In the late 1960s, steep increases in the insurance costs incurred by health care providers protecting against negligence claims by patients triggered what came to be known as the "medical malpractice crisis." In the mid-1970s, manufacturers whose liability insurance premiums suddenly soared raised obstreperous complaints that called public attention to the existence of a "product liability crisis." Finally, other groups whose activities created risks exposing them to lawsuits found that their liability insurance rates had also risen precipitously. A full-blown "torts crisis" was …

Continental Insurance Companies V. Northeastern Pharmaceutical & (And) Chemical Company: Cleanup Costs Are Not Damages Under A Standard Liability Policy, 22 J. Marshall L. Rev. 703 (1989), Michael J. Holt

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Schlemmer V. Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.: A Case For Rethinking Arkansas' Choice-Of-Law Rule For Interstate Torts, L. Lynn Hogue

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

A Gap In The North Carolina Motor Vehicle Liability Policy Statute: Joint Tortfeasors - When And How Does Underinsured Motorist Coverage Apply?, Elizabeth H. Mccullough

Campbell Law Review

This Comment examines North Carolina's underinsured motorist coverage statute, a standard North Carolina automobile insurance policy and applicable common law.

Comparing Comparative Negligence: Is There A Difference Between The Pure And Modified Forms, 22 J. Marshall L. Rev. 243 (1988), Bruce L. Ottley

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Accountable Accountants: Is Third-Party Liability Necessary?, Victor P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

Should accountants be liable to third parties if they conduct an audit in negligent manner? A half century ago, in Ultramares Corporation v. Touche, Niven & Co., Cardozo argued that they should not, unless their performance could be characterized as fraud. In recent years, courts in a minority of jurisdictions have concluded that Cardozo's argument is no longer compelling and they have found that "foreseeable" third parties could bring a tort action for ordinary negligence against the accountants. In addition to being subject to tort actions, accountants may also be liable under federal and state securities laws.

Suits against …

Medical Maloccurrence Insurance: A First Party No-Fault Insurance Proposal For Resolving The Medical Malpractice Insurance Controversy, Larry M. Pollack

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I of this Note examines the broad, underlying themes of tort theory and argues that, in general, the tort system's primary responsibility should be compensation, rather than deterrence of risk taking. In so far as the production of goods and services causes injury, such losses should be shared and spread as widely and proportionately as possible. Part II discusses the history and nature of the medical malpractice insurance crisis. Part III evaluates the numerous systemic solutions suggested by various commentators. Finally, Part IV proposes a new solution: first party, no-fault medical maloccurrence insurance (MMI).

Constitutional Limitations On Tort Reform: Have The State Courts Placed Insurmountable Obstacles In The Path Of Legislative Responses To The Perceived Liability Insurance Crisis, Richard C. Turkington

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Illinois Legislature's Attempt To Resolve The Insurance Crisis: Too Much Tort Reform And Too Little Insurance Regulation, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 159 (1987), Francis J. Bongiovanni

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Liability Crisis - A Perspective, Sean F. Mooney

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Protection Of Shipowners’ Liability Under United States Law And Marine Insurance Practice, Izak Stephanus Fourie

LLM Theses and Essays

Shipowners are exposed to a variety of risks that are, to a large extent, unique to maritime business. Because of factors like the recent increase in the size and value of ships, increase in marine traffic, enactment of legislation imposing new liabilities, and the tendency of courts to make huge awards to personal injury and death claims, shipowners are exposed to potential losses or claims worth millions of dollars in the event of disaster. These heavy risks led to the establishment of the marine insurance industry, as well as the enactment of legislation that limits shipowners’ liability. This legislation was …

First Party Bad Faith In Kentucky: What Remains After Federal Kemper Insurance Co. V. Hornback?, Garry A. Perry

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Fault Concept In Personal Injury Cases In Minnesota: Implications For Tort Reform, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

Legislative tort reform proposals have attempted to restore what is perceived to be an imbalance in the tort-litigation system by limiting tort recoveries. One of the motivating factors behind tort reform proposals is a concern that tort law has deviated from a fault-based system of liability. It is this concern over the structure of the fault system in Minnesota that is the subject of this Article. This Article examines Minnesota Supreme Court opinions of the 20th Century to determine whether the court's decisions deviated from a fault-based system of liability. The focus is on change, accepted and rejected. The purpose …

Autopsy Of A Plain English Insurance Contract: Can Plain English Survive Proximate Cause?—Graham V. Public Employees Mut. Ins. Co., 98 Wn. 2d 533, 656 P.2d 1077 (1983), Lynn B. Squires

Washington Law Review

This Note first analyzes the majority's introduction of a tort concept of proximate cause for deciding insurance cases-and for covertly making public policy. Second, the Note analyzes the dissent's failure to modify its traditional contract analysis to meet the needs of consumers who purchase standard form contracts. The Note recommends the use of an adhesion contract analysis and a common sense test of causation for deciding consumer insurance cases. The Note considers the insurance industry's dilemma as it attempts to respond to plain language legislation while still controlling its exposure to liability. The Note considers as well the public in …

Torts—Tort Of Bad Faith In First Party Actions Recognized, Chet Roberts

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conflicts Of Interest In The Insurer's Duty To Defend In Illinois, 17 J. Marshall L. Rev. 379 (1984), John Dwight Ingram

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Section 767 Of The Illinois Insurance Code: Does It Pre-Empt Tort Liability, 16 J. Marshall L. Rev. 471 (1983), J. Douglas Durham

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mutual Of Enumclaw Insurance Company V. Wiscomb: Excluding The Family Exclusion Clause, Janice L. Campton

Seattle University Law Review

This note examines Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Company v. Wiscomb. The note supports the court’s decision to prohibit unbargained for family exclusion clauses, because it furthered the policies exemplified in the Financial Responsibility Law and the Underinsured Motorist Statute and acted consistently with its decision abrogating intrafamily tort immunity. However, the note argues that by suggesting it would uphold truly bargained for family exclusion clauses denying coverage to named insureds, the court ignored its own pronouncement declaring such clauses against this state’s policy of assuring compensation for the protection of innocent victims of negligent motorists.

Manifestation: The Least Defensible Insurance Coverage Theory For Asbestos-Related Disease Suits, Pamela J. Layton

Seattle University Law Review

This Note first explains the nature of asbestos diseases, the standard insurance policy language, and the theories of insurance coverage. It then demonstrates the misapplications of medical evidence and contract interpretation principles in Eagle-Picher Industries Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and concludes with a discussion of the wider implications of the decision and the better theory suggested by Judge Wald. Because the facts and issues involved in Insurance Company of North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, Keene Corp. v. Insurance Company of North America, and Eagle-Picher are essentially the same, the conclusions drawn from Eagle-Picher apply equally …

On Markets For Risk , Mark Sagoff

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Primer On Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

The Minnesota No-Fault Act has undergone substantial change since its enactment in 1974. Recent legislative modifications and judicial constructions of the Act's provisions have served to correct earlier deficiencies, but have raised new and complex problems of interpretation. In light of these developments, Professor Steenson provides an overview that explains how the Act functions. After tracing the history of automobile insurance regulation in Minnesota, Professor Steenson examines in detail the various compulsory and optional insurance coverages under the Act, the proper sources of payment under those coverages, and the limitations imposed by the Act on the right to recover damages …

Advertising The Economics Of High Jury Awards: The Insurance Industry's Bid For Prospective Jurors To Tighten Their Purse Strings

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Negotiation And Settlement: An Insurer's View Of Comparative Negligence, John L. Hunt

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Model First-Party Insurance Excess-Liability Act, Eric M. Holmes

Scholarly Works

The purpose of this article is to study the various statutes concerning first-party, excess-liability in an effort to compose a model act. The primary issues affecting this problem are two-fold: First, what type of extra-contract damages should be available (e.g., attorney fees, litigation expenses, consequential losses, emotional distress, punitive damages); and second, should these extra-contract damages be based on an equitable standard of good-faith conduct (fault) or on strict liability principles (no fault)? These are crucial questions as the division between contract and tort becomes ever more blurred in modern law.

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.

Washington Title Insurers' Duty To Search And Disclose, Susan M. Stanley

Seattle University Law Review

This comment explores possible non-statutory sources of a title insurer's duty to search and disclose. After reviewing the historical background of title insurance and comparing it with other title assurance methods, this comment examines Washington case law, where the supreme court has failed to impose the duty. It then considers the need to impose and examines the theoretical bases of such a duty to search and disclose: whether it should lie in tort or in contract. Finally, this comment concludes that Washington courts should allow home buyers to sue title insurers for negligence in failing to reasonably search and disclose.

An Insurer's Liability To Third Parties For Negligent Inspection, Michael Braden

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Develpoments In West Virginia Law: 1977, Joseph W. Bowman, Thomas Evans, Janet Archer Goodwin, Laura Jane Kelly, Kenneth E. Tawney

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Developments In West Virginia Law: 1976

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Custom In Medical Malpractice Cases, Richard N. Pearson

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.