Month

October 2011
A recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals case held that spoliation of evidence may not necessarily be fatal to a product liability claim. The case, A.K.W. v. Easton-Bell Sports, Incorporated, et. al, 11-60293 (October 18, 2011) stemmed from a head injury to a minor, “A.K.W.”, that occurred during football practice while A.K.W. was wearing a...
There is a common misperception that a subrogee may never recover more than the amount of its subrogation interest. While it can be challenging to even make a 100% recovery, sometimes there are opportunities available to make a super-recovery – one in excess of the subrogation interest.  The simplest way to recover more than the amount...
An Illinois Appellate Court recently issued an opinion which may make subrogating against a negligent tenant more challenging. Auto Owners Ins. Company a/s/o John Ellis v. Thomas Callaghan, 952 N.E.2d 119 (Ill.App.3d 2011) involved a landlord’s carrier that sued a tenant who was leasing a house. The plaintiff insurer alleged that the tenant was negligent in starting...
A substantial body of law has emerged supporting the position that a plaintiff is entitled to recover the cost of conforming to updated building codes in repairing property damaged by a defendant’s negligence. Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all have authority affirming the recovery of code upgrade costs. The costs of code-compliance are...