Most people think of spiders as insects.  But my 4th grade teacher taught us otherwise.  Insects have a head, thorax, and abdomen.  And six legs.  Spiders have two body parts (the head and thorax are combined) and have 8 legs.  They belong to a species known as arachnids. So what does this have to do …
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Court Denies Motion to Dismiss on Failure to Exhaust Grounds When Plan Documents Were Apparently Silent with Respect to Exhaustion The U.S. district court in Connecticut recently denied a claim administrator’s motion to dismiss a Complaint seeking short-term disability benefits under an employee welfare benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of …
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First Department Finds Additional Insured Coverage Under Policy Issued To Claimant’s Employer United Interior Renovations contracted with and obtained additional insured coverage for All State Interior Demolition under United’s policy for bodily injury caused, in whole or in part, by United’s acts or omissions. United’s employee was allegedly injured and sued All State, but did …
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11th Circuit Holds ERISA Plan’s Anti-Assignment Provision Bars Third-Party Doctor’s Claim for Reimbursement for Services  The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) provides that plan participants and plan beneficiaries may bring a private civil action to recover benefits due under the terms of a plan, to enforce rights under a plan, or to …
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State high courts have been busy deciding insurance coverage questions.  Our February Insurance Update addresses seven rulings handed down over the past month. The Idaho Supreme Court considers whether a Facebook post triggers the prior publication exclusion in a trademark infringement claim. The Iowa Supreme Court tackles the case of efficient proximate cause and the …
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Alan Rutkin’s article entitled “Money? Or Not?” has been published in the February 2019 issue of Best’s Review magazine. The article speaks about questions that may arise in several financial sections, including insurance, with the use of bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency. Click here to read the article. Best’s Review:  February 2019. Copyrighted A.M. …
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Please click the link below to view the New York Insurance Coverage Law Update – Compilation 2018. New York Insurance Coverage Update — Compilation 2018 …
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Second Circuit Finds Duty To Defend Alleged Advertising Injury Claim Buyer’s Direct Inc. asserted that a slipper manufactured by High Point Design, LLC, infringed on Buyer’s Direct’s design patent. High Point sought a declaratory judgment that its slipper did not infringe, and Buyer’s Direct counterclaimed for patent and trade dress infringement. High Point sought defense …
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U.S. District Court in Illinois Holds Two Benefit Plans Exempt from ERISA Under ERISA’s Church Plan Exemption, and Upholds Exemption’s Constitutionality The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) exempts “church plans” from its requirements. A federal court in Illinois recently considered whether certain plans sponsored by a non-profit corporation associated with an Order …
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Sixth Circuit Again Rules That CBA Did Not Provide for Lifetime Retiree Healthcare Benefits The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued another decision concluding that a collective bargaining agreement did not provide for lifetime healthcare benefits for union retirees. The Case Every three to four years since 1973, General Electric Company …
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