“He who pays the piper, calls the tune”. While this adage may be true at a county fair, it has no place in the practice of law. Attorneys owe a primary duty to their client, no matter who pays the bill, be it a parent, spouse, friend, or insurance company. Just because the insurance company pays the attorney to defend its insured, the attorney’s primary duty is to the client not the carrier.Sometimes conflicts between the insured and the carrier arise when the carrier defends an insured … [Read more...]
Archives for 2008
IT’S HARD TO GET ONE OVER ON THE MAN
July 23, 2008 by
In the recent case of Clark County School District v. Richardson Construction, Inc., 123 Nev. Adv. Op. 39 (2007), the Nevada Supreme Court reiterated its position that Nevada’s waiver of sovereign immunity would be strictly enforced. Sometimes, a governmental entity, such as a city or a county, will be a co-defendant in a case involving our client. Where a governmental entity is involved, issues related to sovereign immunity must be considered. The rule is that … [Read more...]
The Nevada Supreme Court Says There Is No Need For A Causal Link Between The Exclusion And The Loss In Order To Enforce An Otherwise Unambiguous Exclusion
July 16, 2008 by
When it comes to an exclusion of coverage, the carrier is often arguing that the exclusion is enforceable. The person arguing for coverage will often argue that the exclusion is just a "technicality". In the case of Griffin v. Old Republic Ins. Co., 122 Nev. Adv. Op. 42 (2006), each party took its expected position.In Giffin, Jensen’s plane crashed in Griffin’s backyard. Griffin got hurt. Old Republic wrote Jensen’s aviation policy. The Old Republic policy required the plane to have a … [Read more...]
Organization Of Opinion Letters
July 9, 2008 by
Just last week, I provided a client (let’s call her Mary Smith) a coverage opinion letter relating to one of her company’s claims.Ms. Smith called to thank me for the opinion letter and discuss its contents. At the end of the conversation Ms. Smith thanked me, not for the content, but for the organization of the opinion letter.Mary recited the story that we hear much too often in the insurance industry. She said that she had recently received an opinion from another firm. The letter … [Read more...]
A Definition Of Accident
June 25, 2008 by
In virtually all liability policies, there must be an “occurrence” before there is coverage. Many policies define an “occurrence” as an “accident”. In other words, where there is no “accident”, there is no homeowner’s liability coverage. But what if your policy does not define the term accident? Perhaps you can do what the Nevada Supreme Court did in the case of Fire Ins. Exch. v. Cornell, 120 Nev. 303, 90 P.3d 978 (2004), namely, look in the dictionary.In that case, the Nevada Supreme … [Read more...]
