In my last post on the lessons that I have learned in 30 years of representing insurers in Chapter 93A cases, I discussed the crucial – almost outcome determinative – role in such a case against an insurer of the actual facts of the underlying claim and the manner in which the claim was
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Big Firms, Contingency Fee Awards and Picking the Right Horse to Bet On
I love these stories on big firms, who are used to billing by the hour, using contingency fee cases to boost the bottom line. When I say that, I am not taking pot shots or being sarcastic – instead, I appreciate the fact that, on a large scale, they are doing what smaller predominately billable…
Principles for Avoiding Chapter 93A or Other Bad Faith Liability (Lesson One)
I have counseled insurers and represented them in litigation on bad faith claims handling and Chapter 93A cases for pretty much the entire modern era of insurer bad faith law in Massachusetts. My very first trial as a first chair was a Chapter 93A bad faith failure to settle claim against a major insurer (I…
Look, There in the Sky – It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane. No, It’s Super Lawyer! (I Can’t Be the First to Have Made this Joke)
When I was in college in D.C. lo these many years ago, a friend of mine’s uncle took us out to dinner at the Watergate complex (still the only time I have ever been inside it). He had been a tech guy at HBO in its early days, when he quit on the spot over…
Will Climate Change Bring With It an Insurance Apocalypse?
Many of you know that I have been writing about the intersection of the insurance industry and climate change for almost long as this blog has existed. I have long been interested in the economic relationship between the two, as the industry responds to climate losses and, in so doing, forces homeowners and other insureds…
Moral Hazard, Homeowners Insurance and Climate Change
The relationship between climate change and the insurance industry has been a favorite hobbyhorse of mine for over a decade, since I learned that Lloyd’s was closely studying the potential impact of climate change on insurance rates, profits, underwriting and the like. Good for the industry, I said then in my blog, for taking a…
If Football Season Is in the Air, It’s Time to Talk About the NFL’s Concussion and CTE Benefits for Former Players
The Washington Post has a fascinating article today on the operation of the NFL’s disability claim system for addressing benefits due for neurological impacts from professional football. Although likely behind a paywall, the article is certainly worth a read. Its point is really that the system, which is the outcome of a negotiated class action…
What Happens in Massachusetts, Stays in Massachusetts: Determining Whether Unfair Practices Occurred in Massachusetts for Purposes of a Chapter 93A Claim
This is a quick note on a new Chapter 93A decision by the Massachusetts Appeals Court that I want to highlight for a couple of reasons. Chapter 93A, for those readers from out of state, is Massachusetts’ consumer protection and unfair business practices statute. The statute is a very powerful weapon in the right case,…
The Supreme Judicial Court Reminds Us That Ambiguity Is Not Something That Exists Just In the Eye of the Beholder
This is a fun but dry (don’t worry – you will get the joke in a second) decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on whether rainwater that accumulates on a roof constitutes “surface waters” for purposes of an insurance policy. Of more practical value to most lawyers and of more interest to me, however,…
Why Turning Excessive Fee Class Action Litigation Into More of an Insurer Managed Exposure Will Benefit Both Insurers and Plan Sponsors
Jacklyn Wille of Bloomberg Law, who by now knows more about ERISA litigation than most ERISA litigators, has an interesting article out (you can find it here; subscription may be required), concerning court approval of a “$1.7 million class settlement benefiting participants in an Advance Auto Parts Inc. subsidiary’s retirement plan . . .…