On June 15, the nation woke up to their Twitter and Facebook feeds to learn about the horror that had visited a Nebraska family the night before at a Walt Disney World hotel property when a two-year-old boy playing in a foot of water was killed after being attacked and carried away by an alligator… Continue Reading
Insurer Held to Have Duty to Defend Allegations that Patients’ Medical Records Were Accessible Via Google Search
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an insurer had a duty to defend an insured against class action allegations that the insured posted confidential medical records on the Internet. Two patients at Glen Falls Hospital discovered that when they conducted a “Google” search of their respective names, the first link that appeared… Continue Reading
ONE BUSINESS DAY DELAY IN DELIVERING SETTLEMENT CHECK COSTS INSURER $1.1 MILLION
A South Carolina federal district court judge has ordered that Nationwide must pay an accident victim $1.1 million, in excess of the $50,000 Nationwide policy, as a result of Nationwide’s failure to timely respond to a time-limited settlement demand. Urena v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 2:13-CV-03544-DCN (D.S.C. Jul. 30, 2015). The time-limits demand, delivered on… Continue Reading
Collins & Lacy Attorneys Selected as 2015 Legal Elite of the Upstate
[GREENVILLE, S.C. August 7, 2015] – Three Collins & Lacy, P.C. attorneys have been selected to Greenville Business Magazine’s 2015 Legal Elite of the Upstate. The attorneys recognized are Jack Griffeth (Insurance Law), Ross Plyler (Civil Litigation), and Logan Wells (Insurance Law), who together make up a majority of the firm’s Greenville office. The Legal… Continue Reading
South Carolina Law Does Not Permit an Insurer to Seek Contribution for Defense Costs from a Co-Insurer
An insurer cannot require contribution from a co-insurer for the expenses of an insured’s defense where one insurer denies liability and the other refuses to defend, according to a recent opinion of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming a decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. In Auto-Owners Insurance… Continue Reading
Court Not Amused by Lawyers’ Appellate Brief
A medical equipment provider sued an insurer to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits. The insurer appealed from an order denied its cross-motion for summary judgment. The order was essentially affirmed. However the court, on its own motion, ordered the plaintiff’s lawyers to show cause why they should not be sanctioned as a result of the… Continue Reading
