court of appeals News

Court Rules Illinois Teen Eligible for UIM Coverage Under Father’s Business Auto Policy

A teen injured in a car wreck is entitled to underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) under her father’s business auto policy even though the vehicle she was riding in was not a listed vehicle on the policy, according to a decision …

New Mexico Court Upholds $10M Punitive Damages in DWI Death

The state Court of Appeals has upheld $10 million in punitive damages for the family and estate of an Albuquerque man killed by a drunken driver in 2003. The court ruled Tuesday there was enough evidence to support the damages …

New York Court Limits Damages Against Defense Lawyers

New York’s top court has rejected some malpractice damage claims against defense lawyers by the people they represent unsuccessfully, concluding that allowing them could have “devastating consequences” for the criminal justice system. The Court of Appeals unanimously says allowing damages …

Court of Appeals Upholds North Carolina Principal’s Workers’ Comp

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a decision awarding workers’ compensation to a middle school principal shot in the face in 2009. The court ruled Tuesday that former Fairmont Middle School Principal James Hunt’s injuries were work-related. Hunt …

North Carolina Appeals Court Rules in Legal Fight Over Dead Dog

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has waded into a legal tussle over the wrongful death of a Jack Russell terrier. Nancy and Herb Shera of Wilmington sued North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009, seeking more …

New York Top Court Allows Private Securities Claims

Enforcement by the state attorney general against securities fraud doesn’t pre-empt private common-law claims of negligence against investment companies, New York’s top court ruled Tuesday. The Court of Appeals rejected J.P. Morgan Investment Management’s argument that New York’s Martin Act …

NY Court Allows Damages Cap in Hockey Bus Crash

New York’s top court says Canada’s limit on damages for pain and suffering applies to claims against the Canadian charter bus company and driver deemed 90 percent liable for the 2005 crash that killed three passengers traveling with an Ontario …

Minnesota Appeals Court Reverses Cirrus Case Award

The Minnesota Court of Appeals says Duluth-based Cirrus Design did not have a duty to provide pilot training to a Grand Rapids man whose plane crashed in 2003, killing him and his passenger. The opinion published Tuesday essentially vacates a …

Court Agrees Pollution Exclusion Applies to Florida Chinese Drywall Claim

Damages and injuries from Chinese drywall fall under a pollution exclusion endorsement on a commercial general liability policy (CGL) and an insurance company has no duty to defend its insured homebuilder against such claims, a federal court in Florida has …