The district court erred in finding that three police officers, fired in retaliation for their joint action, represented a single claim for municipal insurance purposes. Thus, the per-claim policy limit applied to each officer individually, rather than the trio as ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Employment Employment Discrimination Insurance Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A workers’ compensation carrier has no lien for a negotiated lump-sum settlement of a claimant›s future benefits in a tort action against a third party. Under Noblin v. Randolf Corp., 180 Va. 345 (1942), and Slusher v. Paramount Warrior, 336 F. Supp. ...

Tagged with: Buckingham County Circuit Court Insurance Judge Donald Carl Blessing Personal Injury Virginia Circuit Courts Workers' Compensation

Genuine disputes of material fact precluded summary judgment as to whether an insurance company improperly denied coverage for property damage after vandals cut a water line in a hotel undergoing renovations. The insurer claimed that the hotel owners had misrepresented ...

Tagged with: Contract Insurance Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

This litigation arises out of the tragic death of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia student who died in 2010. Another student, George Huguely, was convicted of her murder. His petition for a writ of habeas corpus is pending. Yeardley’s mother, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Insurance Per Curiam Opinion

A life insurance company was under no fiduciary duty to solicit required additional materials from the insured party in order to approve his coverage level, even though his employer had been deducting premium payments for the unapproved amount. Background Steven ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Employment Insurance Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A defendant who perpetrated a complicated insurance fraud scheme resulting in more than $100 million in losses was not denied his right to counsel after he repeatedly insisted on proceeding pro se but then requested counsel for his final sentencing ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Criminal Insurance Judge Robert B. King Sentencing

A defendant driver said in his deposition that he couldn’t remember key details of a car crash, but his pre-suit description of the crash to his insurance company was not entitled to work-product privilege. Background Plaintiff Angel Monterrozo was injured ...

Tagged with: Evidence Insurance Judge Joseph J. Ellis Personal Injury Tort Virginia Circuit Courts

Plaintiffs seeking to have their insurance company defend and indemnify them in underlying defamation actions in Virginia state court didn’t present any “good reason” for the federal court not to exercise diversity jurisdiction to interpret their policy coverage. Background Rickey ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Norman K. Moon Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

After an underinsured motorist caused death and injury to two of the insured’s contractors, limitations in the UIM policy’s declarations page were dispositive in determining whether the contractors’ vehicle was covered. Background Carlos Castillo and Marco Gabarette were independent contractors ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Contract Insurance Judge G. Steven Agee Personal Injury

General-liability insurers could enforce their policy limits as to completed-operations and products hazard claims against the insured, stemming from decades-old asbestos exposure. Background This insurance-coverage dispute involves the applicability of two insurers’ policies to past, pending, and future asbestos-related bodily ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Contract Corporate Evidence Insurance Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Personal Injury Regulated Industries