Insurance Law

DA says smartphones should block texting behind wheel, wants insurance discounts for such devices

A New York prosecutor unveiled a program Monday to prevent motorists from texting and driving and is calling on smartphone makers and insurance companies to join her in offering incentives to obey the law. In a press conference and press release, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said texting and…

Sep 8, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Hinshaw & Culbertson to acquire 45-attorney California firm

Known for its insurance and coverage work, Hinshaw & Culbertson is adding a 45-attorney California-based law firm with an international office in London to its roster. As of Oct. 1, the Chicago-based firm, which has 22 offices throughout the U.S., will acquire Barger & Wolen, which focuses on insurance litigation…

Sep 2, 2014 11:45 AM CDT

Retired NYC cop takes plea in $27M disability-fraud case; ex-prosecutor is a claimed ringleader

A retired New York police officer has taken a plea in a claimed scheme to defraud the federal government of some $27 million in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits over the course of some 25 years. Joseph Esposito, 70, was one of four alleged ringleaders, including a former prosecutor, in…

Aug 28, 2014 5:39 PM CDT

Former managing partner embezzled $30M from law firm and affiliated title company, suit says

Updated: A former managing partner of a well-known Atlanta real estate boutique has been sued by the law firm and an affiliated title company for allegedly embezzling $30 million. The suit says Nathan E. “Nat” Hardwick IV diverted funds from operating and trust accounts at Morris Hardwick Schneider and LandCastle…

Aug 27, 2014 6:35 PM CDT

Louisiana suit claims State Farm emphasizes costs over safety with preferred auto repair shops

A lawsuit filed by the state of Louisiana accuses State Farm of steering customers to preferred repair shops for damaged vehicles, in violation of state unfair-practices and monopolies laws. Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell filed the suit Tuesday in state court in Baton Rouge, report the New Orleans Times-Picayune and…

Aug 21, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer gets 2 years for his role in stealing much of disabled client’s $500K settlement

A former Seattle lawyer has been sentenced to two years for his role in stripping a disabled client of much of the money she was entitled to receive from a $500,000 insurance settlement in an auto accident case. Edward Joseph Callow, 39, must also pay $167,500 in restitution, representing his…

Aug 18, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

Insurance agency pays settlement with buckets of coins totaling an estimated $21K

A California insurance agency had to use a van to pay a settlement to an elderly plaintiff who contended he was assaulted by one of the company’s insurance agents. The company, Adriana’s Insurance, paid the settlement with buckets of loose coins, report the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, NBC…

Aug 8, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Senate Democrats work to override Hobby Lobby decision

Senate Democrats are working on legislation designed to override the Supreme Court’s recent decision exempting some for-profit corporations from having to provide mandatory contraceptive care for its employees. Democratic Senators Patty Murray of Washington and Mark Udall of Colorado are leading the effort for to draft a bill that would…

Jul 10, 2014 8:29 PM CDT

Should insurance cover suit against law firm after staffer allegedly engineered a false arrest?

A law firm could face a double whammy if its insurer is successful in a declaratory judgment action filed in federal court in Las Vegas. Already, a former legal assistant at Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer & Garin is serving time for stalking, after allegedly setting up an opposing party for…

Jul 7, 2014 3:17 PM CDT

Lawyer faces charges linked to claimed $28M health insurance fraud

A South Carolina lawyer is facing federal criminal charges linked to a claimed $28 million health insurance fraud scheme. Kathleen Devereaux Cauthen is accused of aiding others who allegedly sold some 17,000 phony policies throughout the country, via the American Trade Association, reports the Tennessean. She was charged in a…

Jun 25, 2014 4:30 PM CDT

Parents struggle to get help for potentially violent male teens

Recent shootings by troubled youths have raised questions about how the mental health system deals with troubled boys who have aggressive tendencies. The New York Times looks at the problems experienced by one family in Geneva, Illinois, as they tapped high-quality insurance and finally hired a lawyer in an effort…

Jun 23, 2014 1:51 PM CDT

Extreme sports are more popular than ever, prompting questions about legal liability

Last year in West Virginia, 28-year-old Avishek Sengupta was running the Tough Mudder, a grueling 10-plus-mile race littered with merciless obstacles that take participants over blazing pits of fire, through dark trenches and into pools of water laced with electrical wires that deliver 10,000 volts. When Sengupta approached the obstacle…

Jun 1, 2014 10:30 AM CDT

Does six-pack count as one item at checkout? And did a state supreme court really decide the issue?

Does a six-pack of Diet Coke count as just one item in a supermarket checkout line that restricts users to 15 items or less? A lawyer’s newsletter coverage of a purported New Hampshire Supreme Court opinion on the issue led some readers to believe it was real. “People were asking…

May 26, 2014 11:14 AM CDT

Judge sanctions insurer $50K because its lawyer couldn’t settle dog-bite case for $750K

A Nevada judge imposed a $50,000 contempt sanction on an insurer because the company sent a representative to a settlement conference who lacked authority to settle a dog-bite case for $750,000. The plaintiff in the case, landscaper James Moberly, fell backward after being bitten several times by a German shorthaired…

May 12, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

Jurors to decide validity of right-to-sue waiver signed by Allstate agents who claim age bias

Thirteen years after filing their age bias case, 31 Allstate agents who signed a waiver giving up their right to sue are still waiting for a trial date. Before their bias claims can be heard, jurors will decide whether the agents were coerced into signing the agreement, a judge ruled…

May 1, 2014 10:55 AM CDT