Wow, here is a great insurance coverage story out of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, concerning a state trial court decision over the impact of a particular clause in a life insurance policy. The case involved a life insurance policy containing a clause under which the policy only became effective if the insured was in
Functional Fiduciaries in the First Circuit
I am kind of fond of this recent disability benefits case out of the United States District Court for the District of Maine for one particular reason, namely its discussion of functional fiduciaries, and thought I would pass it along as a result. Confronted with the question of whether Metropolitan Life, the administrator, was a
The Five Factor Test for Attorney’s Fee Awards Under ERISA
Here’s a nice follow up ruling in the case of Curran v Camden National, a particularly interesting ERISA case that I discussed here. In this newest ruling, the United States District Court for the District of Maine denied the motion of the defendant – which had earlier successfully moved to dismiss the
Electronic Discovery and the Hearsay Rule
I like this article here about a judge’s extensive evidentiary analysis of the admissibility of electronically generated data, in particular the fact that the judge found that certain types of computer generated data are not subject in any manner, shape or form to the rule against hearsay. As the article sums up the judge’s point:
The Interrelationship of Suits for Benefits and for Breach of Fiduciary Duty Under ERISA
If it seems like I have been digressing a lot these past couple of weeks off of the primary topics of this blog and into other areas that interest me – such as the billable hour system – or that I practice in, like intellectual property litigation, it is because the courts of the
Go West for Health Care Young Man? Preemption and Employer Provided Health Care in San Francisco
Here’s an article on Law.com today, out of the Recorder, on whether San Francisco’s version of a pay or play law mandating certain health care payments by businesses in the interest of bringing about the holy grail of universal health care coverage can survive ERISA preemption. The article points out, similar to what I discussed
Patricia McGovern, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act
There’s a nice interview today on the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly website with the general counsel of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Patricia McGovern. While the story is interesting enough in and of itself on the subject of the structure of a major hospital law department, I took particular note of Ms. McGovern’s comment that
Scott Turow on the Billable Hour
I’m really veering off topic here on today’s post, although I have in the past managed to post about the billable hour system and link it to the question of how policyholders should pay their lawyers in insurance coverage disputes. Today, though, I won’t even rely on that fig leaf, preferring instead to just pass
Insurance Bad Faith Litigation in Massachusetts and the Other 49 States
Want to learn more about insurance bad faith litigation? Well, you could retain me, but if you want something more off the rack, here is a nice looking seminar, with a well credentialed faculty, on the subject. Of course, for local readers, it is important to note that the seminar looks to provide a general
Another Local Health Care Initiative Preempted, and What It Foretells for the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act
Roy Harmon over at his excellent Health Plan Law blog has the story of the decision last week by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Retail Industry Leaders Association v. Suffolk County, in which the court ruled that the Suffolk County Fair Share for Health Care Act (basically