News

Case Summaries

Injury & Tort Law

[02/08] Yokoyama v. Midland Nat'l Life Ins. Co.
In an action alleging deceptive representations in defendant's brochures, which promoted certain annuities as appropriate for seniors, a denial of class certification is reversed where the Hawaii Deceptive Practices Act did not require individual showings of reliance on the alleged misrepresentations.

[01/15] In re United Scaffolding, Inc.
In plaintiff's action for damages he suffered when he fell from a scaffolding unit built by the defendant company, trial court abused its discretion by disregarding a jury verdict and granting new trial when the reason it gave for doing so was "in the interest of justice and fairness."

[01/14] Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass'n v. Dep't of Admin. Hearings
In a consolidated medical malpractice action, involving the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan established by the legislature, the decision by the Second District is quashed and remanded where, in order to satisfy the notice requirement of section 766.316, Florida Statutes, both participating physicians and hospitals with participating physicians on staff must provide obstetrical patients with notice of their participating in the plan.

[12/11] Whirlpool Corp. v. Camacho
In a products liability action against Whirlpool Corporation, judgment of the court of appeals' that a design defect in an electric Whirlpool clothes dryer caused a fatal fire is reversed as the expert testimony of design defect is legally insufficient to support the verdict.

[12/11] Metro Allied Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Lin
In plaintiff's action against an insurance company for negligence and a violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) for failure to procure a commercial general liability (CGL) policy, the judgment of the court of appeals in favor of the plaintiff is reversed and remanded is the causation standard for a claimed failure to procure insurance under a negligence theory and under the DTPA requires proof of the availability of some insurance that would have covered the plaintiff's damages.

[12/11] D.R. Horton-Texas, Ltd. v. Markel Int'l Ins. Co., Ltd.
In an action brought by a general contractor seeking a defense and coverage from the commercial general liability insurer for alleged construction defects, judgment of the court of appeals is affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded where: 1) the duty to indemnify is not dependent on the duty to defend and an insurer may have a duty to indemnify its insured even if the duty to defend never arises; and 2) in determining coverage, a matter dependent on the facts and circumstances of the alleged injury-causing event, parties may introduce evidence during coverage litigation to establish or refute the duty to indemnify.

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Workers' Comp

[01/29] Firemans' Fund Ins. Co. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.
An order of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denying Fireman's Fund Insurance Company's petition for reconsideration regarding a stipulation entered into by plaintiff and the California Insurance Guarantee Association in 2001 is annulled and the matter is remanded where: 1) CIGA's stipulations and a subsequently entered order on the stipulations were not a nullity and void; and 2) the WCAB improperly exercised its discretion under the Labor Code section 5803 to set aside the order entered on the stipulations on the ground of illegality and public policy.

[11/25] Duncan v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.
Plaintiff's petition for review of a decision by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board is granted and the Board's decision annulled as the cost of living adjustment pursuant to Labor Code section 4659(c) for life pensions and total disability indemnity are added to those payments, per the words of the statute, starting January 1, 2004, and every January 1 thereafter.

[11/13] Gelson's Markets, Inc. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.
Workers' Compensation Appeals Board's decision and award finding the employer liable for discrimination against an industrially injured employee because the employer did not accept a physician's release to allow the employee to return to work is annulled as the employee did not establish a prima facie showing of employer's liability for discrimination in violation of Labor Code section 132a, and as such, the burden did not shift to the employer to establish an affirmative defense.

[11/04] Liberty Mut. ins. Co. v. Hurlbut
In a constitutional challenge to two amendments to the New York Workers' Compensation Law, the district court's judgment abstaining from the case is affirmed where Burford abstention was appropriate because federal court intervention would be disruptive of a carefully established state system, and might also yield inconsistent and therefore conflicting results.

[10/30] Groover v. Scottsdale Ins. Co.
In a wrongful death action based on a construction accident, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where plaintiff's remedy was limited to workers' compensation under Louisiana law.

[10/29] Green-Brown v. Sealand Servs. Inc.
Plaintiff's petition for review of a decision of the Benefits Review Board of the US Department of Labor, affirming an ALJ's decision that awarded hearing loss compensation to plaintiff under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) based on an audiogram that did not comply with the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), is granted and reversed because section 908(c)(13)(E) of the LHWCA mandates that hearing loss compensation be based on hearing loss determinations made in accordance with the AMA Guides.

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