Legal Updates

Faced with mounting lost profits and escalating expenses related to COVID-19, including potential liability to third parties, business owners are turning to their insurance policies to cover these losses.  The following is intended as a roadmap of potential coverage issues related to COVID-19 in th[...]
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In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the President signed it into law on March 18, 2020.  As part of the economic stimulus plan, the Act contains a number of provisions that may affect companies’ sick leave.  The Act applies to an[...]
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Following the Michigan Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Bazzi v Sentinel Ins Co, lower courts were given the vague mandate to “balance the equities” between innocent defrauded insurance companies and innocent injured third-party claimants when a policy is rescinded.  Some courts responded by [...]
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In a recent unpublished opinion, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition for an insurer, finding that the insurer was entitled to rescind an insurance policy based on the insured’s misrepresentation regarding her employment in the application for insurance. In Erica Kelley v [...]
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In a recent unpublished decision, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition for the defendant no-fault insurer. The Court examined three issues on appeal: (1) whether a no-fault priority defense is an affirmative defense that must be asserted in a responsive pleading; (2) whether th[...]
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The Michigan Court of Appeals recently issued a published opinion in Board of County Road Commissioners for the County of Washtenaw v Shankle, which will significantly impact utilities in Michigan, increasing both the cost of acquiring property rights and the risk of owners successfully challenging [...]
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Late last year, the Michigan Legislature enacted the Small Wireless Communications Facilities Deployment Act (the “Act”), which will have a significant impact on municipalities’ ability to collect fees for new technology added to utility poles. The Act purports to streamline Michigan’s ro[...]
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In a recent unpublished opinion, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition for the defendant insurer where the claimant misrepresented her abilities at her deposition, but later admitted that she had lied. In Marija Sabados v State Farm Mut Auto Ins Co., the plaintiff filed suit [...]
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The Michigan Court of Appeals recently offered a reminder that Requests for Admission are meant to save resources by limiting the issues in dispute, and are not a means to litigate the merits of a party’s claims. In Malusi v Farm Bureau General Ins Co of Michigan, the plaintiff was struck by a [...]
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In a recent opinion, the United States District Court for the Central District of California held that the aircraft exclusion commonly found in commercial general liability policies unambiguously applied to exclude coverage for bodily injuries caused by a drone. In Philadelphia Indemnity Insuranc[...]
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