Monthly Archives November 2014

Insurers Should Prepare for Another Wild Winter

November 26, 2014

The 2014-15 winter season has already made its presence felt in much of the United States. The Eastern United States has recently been faced with temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal, while significant lake-effect snow has fallen in areas near the Great Lakes. Most notably, a week-long snow event dumped up to seven feet of snow in areas near Buffalo, New York. This is merely the beginning of what appears to be another active winter season. Portions of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are expected to see significant cold snaps over the course of the winter, although the cold is
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Declines to Adopt Restatement (Third) of Torts in Product Liability Cases

November 25, 2014

In a landmark decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to adopt the Restatement (Third) of Torts in product liability cases. Jurisdictions that adopted the Third Restatement allow defendants to introduce evidence regarding the foreseeability of a product’s risks and require plaintiffs to establish that a safer alternative design was viable when the product was manufactured. In a 4-2 decision in the matter of Tincher v. OmegaFlex, the Court continued to apply the Second Restatement, which focuses upon the characteristics of the product and does not permit consideration of a manufacturer’s conduct or the feasibility of an alternative design. In support
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Insurers Must Establish State of Mind for NJ Insurance Fraud Protection Act Claims

November 21, 2014

The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division recently issued an opinion highlighting the challenges of establishing liability against a policyholder for violation of the Insurance Fraud Protection Act (“IFPA”). In Continental Cas. Co. v. Hochschild, the Court addressed alleged misrepresentations made by a recreational boat owner when applying for an insurance policy. These misrepresentations were discovered after the policyholder submitted a claim for fire damage to the boat. Accordingly, the insurer denied coverage and cancelled the policy. The insurer subsequently brought a declaratory judgment action against the policyholder, seeking to declare the policy void based upon the alternative causes of
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New Jersey Implements Complex Business Litigation Program on State-Wide Basis That May Impact Some Insurance Cases

November 18, 2014

On November 13, 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued an Order implementing the Complex Business Litigation Program on a state-wide basis. The Program, which has been operating in Bergen and Essex counties since 1996, will now encompass all cases filed in New Jersey on or after January 1, 2015 satisfying the criteria summarized below. The language in the Order may be interpreted to exclude insurance coverage matters filed by individual policyholders, including bad faith claims. However, the Program is likely to encompass many commercial insurance lawsuits, as well as construction defect matters wherein insurers are defending contractors. Cases under
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