Reversing a lower court’s ruling, in DeMarco v. Stoddard the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the Rhode Island Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association (“RIJUA”) did not have to provide any defense or indemnification in a medical malpractice action to a doctor who made a material misrepresentation on his application for insurance. Plaintiff attempted to argue that because medical malpractice insurance is mandatory in New Jersey and a minimum amount of $1,000,000 in coverage is required, then RIJUA should be required to cover the doctor for the statutory minimum, similar to the protection afforded innocent third parties when a motor
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Monthly Archives December 2015
Issues of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment in New York Trip and Fall Case
In Hines v. HSBC Bank USA, Inc., the Wayne County Supreme Court held that a Plaintiff in a trip and fall action provided enough proof of her negligence cause of action to create triable issues if fact that defeated Defendant’s summary judgment motion. The facts in Hines are relatively straightforward. Plaintiff Hines tripped and fell on the sidewalk outside of the HSBC Bank, where she was a regular customer, in what was later determined to be a small depression in the sidewalk. Under New York law, as an owner or possessor of a property open to the public, HSBC had
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