Insurance Law Commons^™

Solving The Judgment-Proof Problem, Kyle D. Logue

Articles

A tortfeasor who cannot fully pay for the harms that it causes is said to be "judgment proof." Commentators have long recognized that the existence of judgment-proof tortfeasors seriously undermines the deterrence and insurance goals of tort law. The deterrence goal is undermined because, irrespective of the liability rule, judgment-proof tortfeasors will not fully internalize the costs of the accidents they cause. The insurance goal will be undermined to the extent that the judgment-proof tortfeasor will not be able to compensate fully its victims and that first-party insurance markets do not provide an adequate response. Liability insurance can ameliorate these …

The "Sudden And Accidental" Exception To The Pollution Exclusion Clause In Comprehensive General Liability Insurance Policies: The Gordian Knot Of Environmental Liability, Sharon M. Murphy

Vanderbilt Law Review

From 1973 to 1985, comprehensive general liability (CGL) insur- ance policies contained a pollution exclusion clause.' The plethora of litigation spawned by this clause, however, has done little to clarify either its meaning or its relationship to the policy as a whole.' Uncertainty regarding the scope of liability coverage under this clause drives many of the hazardous waste and toxic tort lawsuits filed. Courts have interpreted the pollution exclusion clause variously, often admitting that the law in this area is a confusing array of policy arguments and conflicting drafting histories. Part II of this Note sets forth the historical framework …

The Dimensions Of The Product Liability Crisis, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Examination of a variety of sources of statistics indicates that the product liability crisis is real, and it is not simply imagined or contrived by the insurance industry. Litigation in the product liability area has escalated dramatically, but to some extent the industry was able to mute the effect of this escalation because of the influence of rising interest rates in the early 1980s as well as because the shrinking market for product liability insurance masked much of the explosion that was occurring in terms of the costs of product liability coverage. The dominant pattern in the early 1980s was …

The Performance Of Liability Insurance In States With Different Products-Liability Statutes, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The liability crisis of the mid-1980s has led to an extensive reexamination of the liability system. A number of explanations have been offered for the substantial increase in insurance premiums and, in some cases, a decline in the availability of insurance. These include stimulation of the underwriting cycle by a decline in interest rates, collusion among insurance firms, rising tort costs, and uncertainty with respect to the liability burden.' Most observers, however, also point to changes in tort law itself. For example, plaintiffs may now have a more favorable environment for obtaining an award and, if they are successful, they …

Forum Non Conveniens: A Case Management Tool For Comprehensive Environmental Insurance Coverage Actions, Peter J. Kalis, Thomas M. Reiter

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Myth Of The Liability Insurance Claims Explosion: An Empirical Rebuttal, David J. Nye, Donald G. Gifford

Vanderbilt Law Review

A perceived crisis in the nation's liability insurance system erupted in 1986. Some businesses saw their insurance premiums double in a period of two years, and others found the coverages they required to-tally unavailable. While trial lawyers and consumer groups asserted that insurance company investment and pricing practices, as well as huge profits, had caused the crisis, others alleged that an increased"claims consciousness" among the American public had spawned the liability insurance affordability and availability problems. Richard Berman, a national representative of the United States Chamber of Commerce, proclaimed that the judicial system had "gone berserk" and that litigation was …

The "Set Up" Defense And The Comparative Fault Defense: New Wrinkles In Bad Faith Claims Against Insurers

Washington and Lee Law Review

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 …

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 …

The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

The Insurer's Dilemma, Mark W. Gray

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

Is Malpractice Insurable?, Geoffrey Segar

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

The Malpractice Problem-Its Cause And Cure: The Physician's Perspective, James J. Stewart

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

A Constitutional Perspective On The Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, Cathryn V. Deal

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

A Cure For The Plaintiff's Ills?, Andrew C. Mallor

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: The 1975 Indiana Medical Malpractice Act

Resolution Of Conflicting "Other Insurance" Clauses: New Developments In Indiana, E. Alan Kirtley

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"Other Insurance" Clauses In Garage Liability Policies

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Ghetto's Need For Liability Insurance, John R. Baylor

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Insurance: 1969 Survey Of New York Law Part Three, Commercial Law, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Liability Insurer's Duty To Defend Suits For Intentional Injury

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Insurer Liability For Damage To Realty When Payment Would Result In Windfall Recovery, Judith Herndon

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Creditors' Rights And Security Transactions -- 1963 Tennessee Survey, Forrest W. Lacey

Vanderbilt Law Review

Mechanics Liens

Hammer-Johnson Supply, Inc. v. Curtis,' presented a new aspect of the recurring question of the duty of a supplier of materials to apply payments from a known source to the debt incurred for that source.

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Assets Available to Creditors

In re Jennings' presented the question of whether the proceeds from a medical payment clause of a liability insurance policy are free from the claim of creditors.

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Miscellaneous

In Murdock Acceptance Corp. v. Jones, a deed of trust was executed by Jones and his wife to secure payment of "$5000.00, together with any and all other indebtedness …

Damages--Liability Insurance And Punitive Damages, Harold Dale Brewster Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Discovery Of Liability Insurance Under New Rules, William Erwin Barr

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Insurance--1959 Tennessee Survey, William R. Andersen

Vanderbilt Law Review

What is the meaning of the term "actual cash value" in the standard fire policy? The middle section of the court of appeals, following a prior Tennessee case and the weight of authority, held that the phrase is synonomous with "market value" only where the goods are readily replaceable in a current market. Where there is no market, or where the market value is inadequate to properly indemnify the insured, "actual cash value" means the "'value to the owner' or the loss he suffers in being deprived of the goods." Since the goods involved in this case were personal effects, …

Municipal Corporations - Tort Liability - Purchase Of Liability Insurance As Waiver Of Immunity, Alice Austin S.Ed., William C. Becker

Michigan Law Review

According to a well-established common law rule, a municipal corporation is immune to tort liability for wrongs committed in the performance of governmental or public functions, although it is liable for torts committed in the performance of corporate or proprietary functions. This immunity generally cannot be waived without the authorization of the state legislature, and this authorization must be very clearly stated. Interesting questions arise, therefore, when a municipality, with or without statutory authorization, takes out a liability insurance policy covering itself or its agents, or when it causes its agents to take out bonds for faithful performance. The questions …

Insurance, William Burnett Harvey

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Municipal Corporations - Waiver Of Immunity To Suit By Purchase Of Liability Insurance, Chester F. Relyea S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The City of Knoxville owned and operated a municipal airport under authority of a state statute which permitted a municipality to acquire, maintain, and operate a municipal airport in its governmental capacity, and which barred suits against the municipality with respect to its operation of the airport. The city carried a policy of liability insurance covering it in the ownership and operation of the airport. Plaintiff was injured by a fall at the airport terminal building, and instituted a negligence action against the city. The city moved for dismissal, relying upon the immunity given it by the statute. Held, …

Insurance, Robert W. Sturdivant

Vanderbilt Law Review

One of the most significant decisions during the past year in the field of liability insurance was that of the Court of Appeals in the case of Southern Fire & Casualty Co. v. Norris.' The case involved the duty of a liability insurer toward the insured in the settlement of claims. As early as 1928, the Supreme Court of Tennessee held that the insurer has an obligation toward the insured to use good faith in the conduct of litigation and in the settlement of claims when the insurer assumes control of a case under the provisions of its policy.