The Texas Supreme Court ruled that a primary insurer has no actionable right of contribution or subrogation against a co-primary insurer that declined to settle on terms agreed to by the first primary carrier. Mid-Continent Insurance Company v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, No. 05-0261 (Tex. October 12, 2007) ...
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana held that "actions of civil authority" that do not prohibit access to an insured’s premises do not trigger civil authority coverage under a first-party policy. Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP v. National Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford, No. 06-770-C, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64208 (M.D.La. Aug ...
In Castillo v. State Farm Florida Insurance Co., No. 3D06-2874 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2007), the Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District, reversed a decision granting summary judgment in favor of an insurer, finding issues of fact about whether earth movement, an excluded peril under a homeowners’ insurance policy, played a part in a dwelling’s damage from nearby blasting ...
In its judgment in Bourcier v. La Citadelle(1) rendered on September 4, 2007, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the insured accident victim must inform the insurer no later than one year following the date of the accident, in accordance with Article 2435 C.C.Q. Failure to do so results in forfeiture of the right to the benefit provided for in the accident insurance policy.The factsMs. Bourcier was the victim of a serious motorcycle accident on September 11, 2001 ...
On September 26, 2007, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of appellant Citizens for a Quality of Life(1) (“CQL”) and upheld the judgment of the Superior Court(2) dated December 14, 2004, which had refused to grant its motion for authorization to institute a class action against Aéroports de Montréal (“ADM”) on the basis of the lack of similar or related questions raised by the recourses of the class members ...
The highest court in Massachusetts held in Allmerica Financial Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 449 Mass. 621, 2007 Mass. LEXIS 519 (Aug. 6, 2007), that a “follow form” excess insurer is not obligated to fund a settlement negotiated by the primary insurer ...
At long last, the Government's proposals in relation to the development of a Single Equality Bill have been released for consultation. The proposals stem from the work of the Discrimination Law Review that was established in February 2005 to consider the existing framework of discrimination legislation and to develop proposals aimed at harmonising and simplifying the current law ...
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, applying North Carolina law, held that a liability insurer may properly withdraw from the defense of its policyholder after obtaining a judicial declaration of no coverage, despite the policyholder’s pending appeal, provided the insurer offers to continue defending if the policyholder wins a stay of the trial court’s decision. Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Potter et al ...
This paper will address the varying requirements for fair market value in transactions involving physicians and hospitals and other health care providers. The paper will first examine the Stark law and how and when transactions may satisfy Stark’s requirements for fair market value. Second, the use of fair market value for compliance with the federal Anti-Kickback statute will be addressed ...
In the past few years China has introduced significant regulatory changes in an effort to modernize its pharmaceutical industry and bring it in line with international standards. These include reorganizing the former State Drug Administration into the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), thoroughly amending drug regulation and good manufacturing practice (GMP), enhancing intellectual property protection and changing drug import licensing ...
The promotion of research, development and innovation (R&D&I) has been identified as a key obligation by both the European Union as well as it member states in recent years ...
On Capitol Hill, U.S. lawmakers are considering legislation that would authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve generic versions of biological products. Representative Henry Waxman (D, CA), of “Hatch-Waxman” fame, has introduced the “Access to Life Saving Medicine Act” (H.R. 1038) to advance this change to U.S. law. In introducing the legislation, Rep ...
The purposes of this Health Care Alert are to: 1) summarize recently proposed federal regulations which will require physician disclosure of ownership interests in hospitals to patients; 2) remind health care providers of existing Texas laws requiring disclosure of ownership interests and 3) suggest best practices for disclosure of ownership interests ...
An Illinois federal district court held, in Massachusetts Bay Ins. Co. v. Faber Bros., Inc., No. 04 C 5160, 2007 WL 1029366 (N.D. Ill. March 30, 2007), that a distributor of firearms is not covered under general liability insurance contracts for claims alleging that its sales of firearms created a public nuisance that led to bodily injuries. Factual BackgroundThe insured, Faber Bros., Inc., is a distributor and wholesaler of firearms ...
Can the cost of remedying a manufacturing defect be considered as damage resulting from an “accident” covered under a liability insurance policy? This is the question the Quebec Court of Appeal considered in CGU, Compagnie d’Assurance du Canada v. Soprema Inc., [2007] QCCA 113 ...
A reputation for counterfeiting, poor quality control, ever-changing and inconsistent application of regulations and the challenges of ensuring that development does not unduly prejudice the welfare of the general population - this description of China’s pharmaceutical industry is representative of much that is good, bad and challenging in China’s recent regulatory and economic development ...
Each time we give up a bit of information about ourselves to the Government, we give up some of our freedom. For the more the Government or any institution knows about us, the more power it has over us. When the Government knows all of our secrets we stand naked before official power.” [Introductory remarks of Senator Sam Ervin on S3418, Legislative History of the Privacy Act of 1974 ...
We are pleased to advise you of recent Quebec Superior Court judgments rendered in favour of our clients. Two motions for authorization to institute a class action were recently denied by the Court, which should be a matter of interest to decision-makers and lawyers dealing with issues involving competition, environment and natural resources as well as class actions generally ...
It is known that an insurer has a considerable duty to inform in group insurance. The Superior Court, in a decision by Justice Hélène Langlois, specified the extent of this duty in Tanguay et al v. L’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company of North York, doing business under the name Manulife Financial(1) ...
The Court of Appeal rendered an important decision on October 31, 2006, which dealt with the liability of manufacturers and professional sellers, as well as several other related issues, in the case of The Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company of Canada and Prima Viande Ltd v. Manac inc./Nortex (manufacturer of the Arcoplast product) and Systèmes intérieurs Atlas inc ...
In December last year, the House of Lords handed down its judgment in the case of R (on the application of Laporte) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire. The case considered the proper balance to be struck between an individual's Article 10 and 11 rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association under the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR'), and the Police's powers to prevent breaches of the peace ...
This month the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 ('the Act') comes into force. It is one of the Government's key legislative proposals for 2006, designed to promote productivity and ease the burden of regulation. The Act replaces the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and is part of the UK Government's Better Regulation Action Plan 2005 ...
On October 31, 2006, the Court of Appeal rendered two key decisions on the issue of neighbourhood annoyances in Quebec. It is greatly to their credit that these two judgments represent a return to more reasonable legal bases on this issue. The decisions are Ciment du Saint-Laurent inc. / St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette and Cochrane(2) (hereinafter “St. Lawrence Cement”) and Comité d’environnement de Ville-Émard (C.E.V.E.) and Michaud v ...
