Bullivant Closes Calif. Office After Practice Heads Lead 12-Lawyer Leap to Locke Lord Bissell

After a dozen lawyers from the Sacramento office of Bullivant Houser Bailey jumped ship to Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, the firm announced today that it is closing its 20-year-old office in California’s capital, effective March 1. The move leaves 100-lawyer Bullivant, which is based in Portland, Oreg., without a…

Mar 4, 2011 2:16 AM CST

As Surrogacy Becomes More Popular, Legal Problems Proliferate

Mar 1, 2011 11:40 AM CST

Policy Matter: Firm Plans Insurance Against Evidence Loss

Mar 1, 2011 9:10 AM CST

2nd Judge Insured by State Farm Steps Aside in $350M Case

Attorneys for both sides reportedly looked at each other in disbelief this week as a Texas judge hearing a $350 million case against State Farm asked whether it would be a problem that she had her own personal policies with the insurer. That’s because the same issue arose in September,…

Feb 18, 2011 1:27 AM CST

Jailed Ex-Spouse, Accused in Lawyer’s Kidnapping and Arson, Can Sue Fire Insurer, Appeals Court Says

Imprisoned and awaiting trial on charges that he kidnapped his attorney ex-wife at gunpoint, held her hostage in her Connecticut home in July 2009 and torched it after she fled, a former public relations executive can pursue an insurance coverage case over another home he allegedly set afire in 2007,…

Feb 15, 2011 7:16 PM CST

Prominent Lawyer Calls His Next Witness in $863K Insurance-Check Fraud Case: Himself

Updated: Attorney George Guldi ended the speculation Wednesday about whether or not he would testify in an ongoing criminal trial over his alleged conversion of an $863,000 fire-insurance check. “I call my next witness, George Guldi,” the former Suffolk County lawmaker told the court, stepping up to the stand wearing…

Feb 11, 2011 12:11 AM CST

6th Circuit Gives Penny ‘Rare Moment in the Spotlight,’ Dismisses Case for Lack of Jurisdiction

The penny is often disrespected. But its critical import is clear in a federal appeals court ruling in an insurance coverage case today. “The amount in controversy in this declaratory judgment action is exactly one penny short of the jurisdictional minimum of the federal courts,” says the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S.…

Feb 4, 2011 8:03 PM CST

Harvard Law Prof Testifies Congress Can Make You Buy Veggies and Insurance

Harvard law professor Charles Fried testified before Congress on Wednesday that he’s “quite sure” the health-care law’s insurance requirement is constitutional. Fried, who was solicitor general in the Reagan administration, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the commerce clause gives Congress the power to require insurance, the Talking Points…

Feb 3, 2011 4:31 PM CST

Trial of Michael Jackson’s Doctor Could Decide Insurance Coverage for Canceled ‘This Is It’ Concert

A decision earlier this month to try Michael Jackson’s personal physician for involuntary manslaughter could determine whether London market insurers ante up in the cancellation of the famous singer’s final “This is It” concert tour. Because the policy reportedly may cover only Jackson’s non-appearance due to “accident,” it might not…

Jan 27, 2011 1:29 AM CST

Gumshoes are Now Glued to Internet as They Search for Adverse Insurance Information

Yet another reason to be wary about posting on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites: It isn’t just teachers, employers and jealous spouses and significant others who are taking a close look at such pages. They’re a gold mine for insurance companies, too. Private investigators who once were only…

Jan 25, 2011 1:06 AM CST

Liberty Mutual Sues One of Its Contract Lawyers, Claims ‘Sextortion’ Attempt

A contract lawyer for Liberty Mutual is accused in a civil suit of threatening to expose an insurance executive’s sexual liaisons if he wasn’t paid millions of dollars and given more work. New York lawyer Michael Devereaux is accused of seeking more than $3 million and at least 25 more…

Jan 20, 2011 12:18 PM CST

New Calif. Law Lets Individuals Rent Cars to Strangers, Via ‘Green’ Nonprofit

Tempting though it might be to pick up a few bucks by letting a friend or acquaintance rent your car in tough economic times, doing so runs the risk of invalidating your personal auto insurance policy and being held responsible for an accident. But a new California law that took…

Jan 12, 2011 5:06 PM CST

5th Circuit Nixes $21M Katrina Pact, Worried That Legal Fees and Other Costs Could ‘Cannibalize’ It

A federal district court judge erred by approving a $21 million settlement of Hurricane Katrina damage claims, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday, because attorney’s fees and administrative costs could “cannibalize” most or all of the money. Absent a showing that the more than 500,000 residents and businesses concerned will…

Dec 17, 2010 4:27 PM CST

Holder Op-Ed: Health Care Challenges Are ‘Troubling’ and Wrong on the Law

Legal attacks on the insurance mandate in the new health care law are “troubling” and could have devastating consequences if they succeed, according to an op-ed by Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. Writing in the Washington Post, Holder and Sebelius say they…

Dec 14, 2010 12:27 PM CST

Most 9/11 Responders in New York Agree to $625M Settlement re World Trade Center Health Claims

They aren’t necessarily happy about it. However, over 10,000 plaintiffs who have sought for seven years to hold the city of New York and its contractors responsible for alleged health injuries suffered by police, firefighters and others responding to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center…

Nov 19, 2010 9:48 PM CST