If an attorney gets duped into executing a check and distributing its proceeds as part of an elaborate fraudulent check scheme – an act which will then of course inevitably get him sued – is he covered for that act under his professional liability coverage? A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has astutely, and on the
Malicious Prosecution in Massachusetts
When I first saw this headline – “Doctor can sue insurance company for malicious prosecution” – in the local legal newspaper, my first thought was they are running a dog bites man story to open the new year. Why, after all, would an insurance company be immune from being sued for malicious prosecution? But when
Sereboff in a Clever Nutshell
No more end of the year lists for this blog; the holidays are over and it is time to return to substance. With that in mind, I thought I would kick off the new year by passing on Boston University Law student Anthony R. Ten Haagen’s interesting note on Sereboff, soon to be published
The Eleventh Most Important Insurance Coverage Decision of 2006
End of the year lists, to alter an old off color joke, are like opinions: everyone, it seems this time of year, has one. Some are superficial, silly and cursory, like this one here, and others, like Randy Maniloff’s list discussed in my last post, are substantive. For those of you who couldn’t get
Ten Exciting Moments in Insurance Coverage Law, 2006
Here is an article insurance coverage litigator Randy Maniloff is publishing in Mealey’s early next month discussing Randy’s picks for the ten most important insurance coverage decisions from across the country over the past year. The cases cover issues ranging from the absolute pollution exclusion to junk faxes, and a range of topics in-between.
While the
The Fourth Circuit on Equitable Relief and Varity v. Howe
Here is a neat post about a decision last week out of the Fourth Circuit concerning when equitable relief can be pursued by a plan participant. Supreme Court precedent already narrowly cabins that type of a claim, and the Fourth Circuit enforced that approach in the case before it, in which the participant tried to
Mike Webster, the NFL and ERISA
They say that professional football is far and away the most successful entertainment business – let alone sports league – in the country, but behind the scenes all is not tea and roses, quite clearly. Anyone who follows the sport knows the physical toll it takes on many of its best players, and a dark
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Law Department
This is insurance – health insurance, anyway – and health insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield will often be provided under an ERISA governed plan. So, although it may not be all that edifying on anything we discuss on this blog, I nonetheless feel obliged to pass along a link to this article, which
Deja Vu All Over Again All Over Again
Jeez, didn’t I just say this same thing, in less words, a few weeks ago? What really bothers me is I don’t know whether I should interpret this as a case of great minds think alike, or as evidence that my original thought, published here, just wasn’t that original (even if it was
Health Savings Accounts, Summary Plan Descriptions and Other Things
A few short notes of interest from a weekend of reading:
• Jerry Kalish has nice things to say about (and agrees with) my recent post concerning the Second Circuit’s decision – correct in my view – precluding summary plan descriptions from trumping the actual plan terms.
• I don’t know quite what to say