“What are the meds?” This is a common question when valuing a personal injury case. The question is critically important because plaintiffs are unlikely to settle their cases before getting their medical bills paid. Further, in order to cultivate large awards, plaintiffs employ a variety of methods to artificially inflate the value of the medical care.

(Question of fact related to damage sustained by a gas purification plant required reversal of summary judgment in favor of insurer under property policy.)

(Insurer may not prosecute a subrogation action against an implied insured under a lease clause for fire damage sustained by property)

(An umbrella policy did not afford uninsured motorist coverage to parties which did not qualify as insureds under the umbrella policy)

Pressure for tough federal action to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continues to grow, with two Congressional hearings, multiple legislative proposals, the issuance of a new scientific report, and EPA’s release of expected dates for particular PFAS regulations all making news in the last two weeks. This heightened focus and the unusually aggressive proposals for regulating these chemicals leave little question that there is an increasing business risk for current and former manufacturers of PFAS chemicals and products containing them. 

(Once SIRs were exhausted in connection with claims covered by underlying umbrella policies, insured was not obligated to pay additional SIRs for new claims triggered under excess policies)

(Government Code Section 825.4 Does Not Contain a Blanket Ban on a Public Entity Employee’s Insurer Contributing to the Employee’s Defense and Settlement Costs as a Co-Defendant in a Lawsuit Against the Public Entity)

(Insurer Did Not Commit Bad Faith in Requesting a Determination of the Eligibility of Payment of Medical Expenses through Workers’ Compensation System Prior to Paying Uninsured Motorist Benefits)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires that private employers with over 100 employees and certain federal contractors with 50 or more employees provide data regarding the number of employees by job category, race, ethnicity, and sex in EEO-1 Reports. Following a recent United States District Court opinion and subsequent statements by the EEOC, these employers must now provide additional data related to hours worked and pay data for 2017 and 2018 by September 30, 2019.