1st Circuit Court of Appeals News

Did Water that Pooled on Roof Cause ‘Flood’ Damage? Mass. High Court Asked to Decide

A federal appellate court is asking Massachusetts’ top court to decide whether an insurance policy sublimit for damage caused by “surface waters” applies to damage from water that pooled on a parapet roof and second-floor courtyard during a rainstorm. The …

Fishing Community Mayor, Top Officials Off the Hook in Retaliation Claims

The mayor and other city officials in the fishing community of Gloucester, Massachusetts are protected under qualified immunity against claims by the city’s harbormaster that they violated his First Amendment rights. The harbormaster sued the mayor, city solicitor, chief administrative …

Harvard Loses $15M in Excess Coverage Because of Late Notice of Claim

Even the smartest institutions in the land can miss deadlines – and can lose $15 million in insurance coverage because of it, a federal appeals court decided Wednesday. The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling …

Fear Created by Data Breach Suffices for Class-Action Suit to Proceed, 1st Circuit Rules

Former customers of Injured Workers Pharmacy whose personal information was stolen by hackers and allegedly used to file a fake tax return may pursue a class-action lawsuit against the company, a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled …

1st Circuit Finds Yacht Insurance Void Because of Owner’s Failure to Disclose

A federal appellate court ruled Tuesday that insurers are entitled to a strict interpretation of a doctrine in maritime law that imposes a duty of “utmost good faith” on parties to marine insurance contracts. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals …

Court Finds Rental Contract Shifted Liability for Lift Accident to Renter

United Rentals’ insurance carrier is not liable for damages caused by an accident involving one of its electric boom lifts because the small business that rented the equipment signed a contract that, in effect, placed all of the liability on …