Category Archives: Court Case
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Court of Appeals of Virginia opens door to second round of easement litigation
The Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed the denial of an implied easement absent evidence of its location but may have encouraged the parties to further litigate the issue. In Morris v. Parker, the central issue initially before the trial court was whether the Morrises had established an implied easement to use a platted ... Read More
TAGGED: #RealEstateLaw, #DCRealEstate, #VARealEstate
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United States District Court for the District of Maryland grants summary judgment on 3(a) exclusion
Earlier this week, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland granted, in part, summary judgment against a title insurer for failing to provide a defense to an underlying fraud and conspiracy action. In Sharestates Investments, LLC v. WFG National Title Ins. Co., the Court reaffirmed that the duty to defend is significantly broader than the duty to ... Read More
TAGGED: #RealEstateLaw, #DCRealEstate, #MDRealEstate
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Massachusetts Appeals Court Rules That Insured Is Entitled to Recover Costs In Bringing Coverage Suit Against Insurer
In John Moriarty & Assocs., Inc. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 22-P-275, 2023 WL 2719362 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 31, 2023), the Massachusetts Appeals Court for Middlesex County vacated a lower court’s dismissal of Zurich American Insurance Co (“Zurich”) from a declaratory judgment action brought by John Moriarty & Associates, Inc. (“JMA”), a ... Read More
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Massachusetts High Court: Abuse Exclusion Requires Imbalance or Misuse of Power Attendant to Physically Harmful Conduct
In a March 16, 2023 decision, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts concluded that an abuse exclusion in a homeowners’ policy was inapplicable to an unprovoked attack by an insured . The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court again considered whether, under the terms of a homeowners’ insurance policy, conduct by an insured constituted “physical abuse” within the terms ... Read More
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Georgia Federal Court: General Liability Policy’s Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage for Claims Arising from Discharge of PFAS into Waterways
In a December 5, 2022 decision, the Northern District of Georgia determined that a total pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability policy precluded coverage for damages arising out of the discharge of PFAS chemicals into waterways. Read more here ... Read More
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Texas Court: Ohio Law Applies to Bar Coverage for Construction Defect Claims
In a September 23, 2022 decision, the Southern District of Texas recently resolved a coverage dispute arising out of a construction defects arbitration in Texas by applying Ohio law, which excludes claims for faulty or defective workmanship. Read the full decision here: Liberty Ins. Corp. v. Omni Constr. Co. article (11.11.22). ... Read More
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California Appellate Court: “Other Insurance” Dispute Resolved by Reference to Plain Meaning of Policy Terms
In an unreported decision issued on September 8, 2022, the California Court of Appeal resolved a priority of coverage dispute for an underlying settlement when it found that one excess carrier’s reference to the primary policy in its definition of Underlying Limits entitled another excess carrier with no such reference to equitable subrogation. Read about this case here: ... Read More
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California Court: COVID-19 Not “Pollution Condition” under Pollution Policy
The Eastern District of California, partly relying on California precedent interpreting the pollution exclusion, determined that COVID-19 did not constitute a ‘pollution condition’ in a pollution liability policy. Read more about this court case here: Vision Serv. Plan Plaintiff v. Illinois Union Ins. Co. et al. article (11.11.22) ... Read More
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Massachusetts High Court Rules that a Business Owners Liability Policy Does Not Cover Attorney’s Fees Awarded under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Statute
On July 6, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts determined that an award for attorney’s fees under the Massachusetts consumer protection statute, M.G.L. c. 93A (“Chapter 93A” or “the statute”), was not covered under a business owners liability policy because attorney’s fees awarded under the statute do not constitute damages “because of” bodily ... Read More
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Summary judgment granted in premises case. Res ipsa loquitur inapplicable where mode of claimed injury required expert support.
Edward Sedlacek & Crystal Deese obtained summary judgment for their hospital client against a Plaintiff suing for premises liability and res ipsa loquitur. Plaintiff claimed to have received an electrical shock forceful enough to fracture two different bones. None of the medical experts agreed that electricity caused these twisting type fractures. The court rejected Plaintiff’s argument that a lay jury ... Read More
TAGGED: Premises Liability, Health Care, litigation, res ipsa loquitur
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DC Council Extends Foreclosure Moratorium, Shortens TOPA Tolling Period
In October 2021, D.C. Council provided Mayor Bowser, under Act 24-178 1 , the power to extend the foreclosure moratorium from November 5, 2021, to February 4, 2022. 2 The purpose of this extension was to allow the Housing Assistance Funds (‘HAF”) Program to be implemented. The goal of the HAF program is to prevent mortgage ... Read More
TAGGED: TOPA, Real Estate Law, foreclosure moratorium, COVID Policy
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Texas High Court: Extrinsic Evidence Permissible in Limited Exception to Eight-Corners Rule
In a decision issued on February 11, 2022, the Texas Supreme Court, responding to a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, held that extrinsic evidence can be considered in determining an insurer’s duty to defend in limited circumstances. In Monroe Guar. Ins. Co. v. BITCO Gen. Ins. Corp., the United States Court of Appeals ... Read More
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The COVID-19 Vaccination – Testing Mandate Is Not Completely Dead
On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court prohibited OSHA’s enforcement of its nationwide emergency vaccination and testing standard declaring the scope of the regulation beyond OSHA’s statutory authority. On January 25, OSHA conceded the point and withdrew the standard. But even as OSHA withdrew the standard, OSHA made clear that employers are not relieved of their obligation to protect employees from the risks of ... Read More
TAGGED: COVID-19, OSHA, covid, Vaccination, Covid-19 Vaccination
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Charitable Conservation Easements Found A Friend In The 11th Circuit
Many Tax Court cases have been decided based upon an obscure Treasury Regulation, upholding the IRS’ 100% disallowance of charitable conservation easement deductions. The 11th Circuit struck down the Regulation, holding that it is “arbitrary and capricious”. A rare win for taxpayers. The Bloomberg article attached below was written by our own attorney, Nancy O. Kuhn. A Rare Victory For Taxpayers ... Read More
TAGGED: irs, tax, Treasury Regulation, 11th Circuit, taxpayers
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Blount v. Padgett’s Impact on Property Held as Tenants by the Entireties
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has clarified a 45-year-old decision regarding the effects of a divorce on liens against property held as tenants by the entireties. In Blount v. Padgett, the Court of Appeals refined its 1976 holding in Travis v. Benson that an entry of a final divorce decree converts property to a tenancy in common allowing ... Read More
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Virginia Supreme Court Authorizes Removal Of General Robert E. Lee Statue In Richmond
A large statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee has stood for over 100 years on Monument Avenue in Richmond, along with statues of other Confederate notables. Times changed, and calls to remove the statues intensified. Governor Ralph Northam authorized the removal of the statues, but two lawsuits were filed by private individuals to protect Lee’s monument. In both cases, ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Bare Majority Of Court Allows Texas Abortion Law To Go Into Effect
The Texas Heartbeat Act created a private right of action to sue anyone who performed or assisted in performing an abortion after a heartbeat had been detected in a fetus—generally after about six weeks from conception, but well before the viability benchmark established in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Abortion providers sued a state court judge, a state ... Read More
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Court Opinion: D.C. Circuit Rejects Challenge To House Resolution Allowing Proxy Voting During Pandemic
In May of 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 965, which allowed House members to cast votes and mark their presence by proxy during the public health emergency caused by COVID-19. The Republican minority filed suit challenging the Resolution, arguing that it was unconstitutional because the Constitution required that members be physically present on the House floor ... Read More
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Health Law Practice Group Update: Attorneys secure dismissal of a conversion case styled as patent infringement
Attorneys Crystal Deese and Sarah Godfrey recently secured dismissal a conversion case styled as patent infringement in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plaintiff, a biomedical research tech, sued the head of his former research laboratory for allegedly “stealing” his intellectual property. Plaintiff claimed the theft occurred when the lab director permitted one of plaintiff’s colleagues to ... Read More
TAGGED: Patent Infringement, conversion claim
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Health Law Practice Group Update: Summary Judgment in Premises Liability Case
The Health Law Practice Group obtained summary judgment in a premises liability case. Plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell on liquid an employee allegedly deposited and left on a hospital floor. She claimed a permanent wrist injury following a surgical procedure negatively impacted nearly all activities of daily living. Judge Shana Frost Matini in the Superior Court of the District ... Read More
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Health Law Practice Group Update: Attorneys Win Motion to Limit Plaintiffs’ Economic Damages
Attorneys Crystal Deese and Pam Diedrich recently won a Motion to Limit Plaintiffs’ Economic Damages. Plaintiffs sought to recover the entire amounts of their medical bills rather than the far lower figure the hospital received in payment. Judge José M. López in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ruled that Plaintiffs can only claim the amounts actually paid ... Read More
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Health Law Practice Group Update: Attorneys Successfully Asserts Claim-Splitting Doctrine
This month, Edward Sedlacek and Crystal Deese secured dismissal of an individual physician from a malpractice suit despite Plaintiff's two-pronged attempt to add her into the litigation. Plaintiff sued a hospital in 2019 claiming permanent injuries due to inappropriate postoperative management. In 2021, Plaintiff filed a separate suit making the same allegations against his surgeon. We moved to dismiss the ... Read More
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Client Alert: Watts-Dowd v. SJH Property Management, LLC
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has affirmed a trial court’s denial of an adverse possession claim in which the plaintiff submitted evidence as to each of the traditional necessary elements but failed to establish the location of the actual property at issue. In Watts-Dowd v. SJH Property Management LLC, the Court was presented with an all too familiar ... Read More
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Client Alert: Canova Land and Investment Company v. Carolyn Lynn
This morning, the Supreme Court of Virginia interpreted a restriction contained within a 146-year-old deed as not being an unreasonable restraint on alienation. In Canova Land and Investment Company v. Carolyn Lynn, the Supreme Court analyzed whether ancient deed restrictions, undiscovered by a subsequent lender, vitiate the security for its loan. In 1875, Edna and Levi Lynn granted a deed to ... Read More
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Client Alert: Wilson v. Eagle National Bank
The United States District Court for the District of Maryland has allowed a complaint alleging Sherman Act violations by a lender in purported conspiracy with its internal title company and competitor title company to proceed. In Wilson v. Eagle National Bank, the Court held that allegations of horizontal price-fixing in title and settlement services, if proven true, constitute per se ... Read More
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D.C. Court of Appeals Issues Decision On Condominium Lien Foreclosures And When An Appeal May Be Taken in a Consolidated Action
On March 25, 2021, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its decision in RFB Properties II, LLC v. Deutsche Bank Company Americas (Nos. 19-CV-0529 and 19-CV-069). This decision has important ramifications on two fronts: (1) whether a party can appeal from a “final order” issued in only one of two consolidated cases; and (2) in the context of a D.C ... Read More
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Client Alert: Yacko v. Mitchell
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has issued an opinion adverse to lenders decrying the “high volume of foreclosure cases” in which lenders “often treat these matters as routine and expect our courts to rubber-stamp the foreclosure with methodical expediency.” In Yacko v. Mitchell, the Court noted that the Maryland Rules mandate that trial courts slow the foreclosure action ... Read More
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Client Alert: Chicago Title Insurance Co. v. Allynnore M. Jen
Last Thursday, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland issued an opinion on an insurance coverage matter that only eight (8) jurisdictions have issued a published decision on since 1951. Fortunately for the title insurer, the Court of Special Appeals sided with the majority and joined seven (7) of those jurisdictions. While the case raises other issues such as the ... Read More
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Client Alert: PennyMac Holdings, LLC v. First American Title Insurance Company
Recognizing that Maryland appellate courts have not previously issued a published opinion as to either whether a closing protection letter constitutes a policy of title insurance or when claims against a closing protection letter accrues for statute of limitations purposes, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland has issued a decision clarifying these, and other, areas of the law. In PennyMac ... Read More
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Update from our Health Law Practice Group:
In a medical malpractice case, a Plaintiff alleged that while she was being treated in the Emergency Room, a catheter tip broke off and became lodged in her arm. Crystal S. Deese of Jackson & Campbell represented a surgeon who advised against removing the broken tip. At trial, Plaintiff offered an emergency room physician to testify on the standard ... Read More
TAGGED: Health Law, Medical Malpractice