Lisa Ricchio alleged that she was kidnapped by Clark McLean in 2011, that he held her captive and raped and abused her for several days at the Shangri-La Motel, and that he made clear to her that he intended to force her to work as a prostitute.  The motel was owned by Bijal, Inc.  Ashvinkumar and Sima Patel worked and lived at the motel at the time.  Ricchio alleged that Bijal and the Patels were…

River Farm Realty Trust owns property in Sherborn, Massachusetts.  Paul and Linda DeRensis live on the property.  As at so many homes in Massachusetts in the winter of 2015 (blog readers who lived here then will remember this well), in February and March 2015 ice dams caused water infiltration into the house. The property was insured by Farm Family Casualty Insurance Company (“FFI”).  The DeRensises notified FFI of the damage in early March, 2015. Throughout…

Fortune has an interesting article, here. …

A few years ago I wrote a series of posts about a decision of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on a case in which a restaurant called Bearbones alleged bad faith by an insurer with respect to a reference proceeding.  (A reference proceeding is the proceeding required by Massachusetts statute, and incorporated into property insurance policies,  in which a panel of three referees determines a dispute over the amount of…

There are a category of insurance issues that I classify as “cocktail party issues.”  If it comes out in a social setting that I’m an insurance coverage geek, there a few questions that come up over and over again from people who are making conversation/seeking free advice. One of those questions is about damages to a car after an accident.  Specifically, can the owner recover from the insurer for the diminished value of the car…

A vehicle driven by Susan Ingham and owned by William Ingham struck a vehicle driven by Ansley Dunbar.  Dunbar’s vehicle was insured by Patriot Insurance Company.  The Inghams’ vehicle was insured by Progressive Direct Insurance Company.  Patriot made payments to Dunbar for her injuries pursuant to her underinsured motorist coverage.  A digression:  Underinsured motorist coverage provides coverage to the injured insured above the policy limit of the person responsible for the accident. In other words,…