On February 2011, David DeVeau was in a car accident in Florida in which Ashly Rierson suffered devastating injuries. DeVeau was insured by Progressive Select Insurance Company, apparently under a Florida policy that did not include bodily injury coverage. Rierson
Insurance Coverage Law in Massachusetts
The blog "Insurance Coverage Law in Massachusetts," published by attorney Nina E. Kallen, focuses on legal issues related to insurance coverage and bad faith disputes within Massachusetts. It covers topics such as litigation strategies for insurance claims, interpretation of insurance policies, statutory claims under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, allocation of liability among insurers, and court decisions affecting insurance coverage. The blog also addresses practical guidance for attorneys handling insurance coverage cases, including brief-writing and case management. It serves as a resource for policyholders, insurers, and legal professionals interested in Massachusetts insurance law and civil litigation involving insurance matters.
Latest from Insurance Coverage Law in Massachusetts - Page 8
2019 amendments to ISO forms
By Nina Kallen
Many insurers use standard insurance forms and endorsements issued by the Insurance Services Office, or ISO, which is subsidiary of a company called Verisk Analytics. ISO recently made several changes to its forms and endorsements. The law firm of Saxe…
US District Court for District of Massachusetts holds that exception to exclusion does not create coverage barred by a different exclusion
By Nina Kallen
On February 19, 2019, an employee of Performance Trans, Inc. (“PTI”) drove a tanker truck off the road in New York. The truck overturned and spilled 4,300 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel.PTI undertook an emergency response action to clean…
SJC holds that insurer is not liable for bad faith litigation tactics if the bad faith did not cause damages
By Nina Kallen
In my last post I discussed how in Rawan v. Continental Casualty Company (no citation available yet) the SJC upheld the legality of consent-to-settle clauses. The plaintiffs in Rawan also alleged that Continental Casualty Insurance had violated Mass. Gen. Laws chs.…
SJC holds that consent-to-settle clauses are legal and do not violate chs. 93A or 176D
By Nina Kallen
When I was an insurance defense litigator — an attorney hired by insurance companies to represent people who were covered by insurance who had been sued — I was always thrilled to have the rare client who actually cared about…
Massachusetts enacts hands-free driving bill
By Nina Kallen
Agency Checklists has a good summary of the bill, here. One thing the article notes that I have not seen in more general news reports is that a third offense will result in an insurance surcharge.OK Boomer confessions: Until…
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts finds duty to defend sex trafficking claim under personal injury coverage
By Nina Kallen
In my last post I was discussing Ricchio v. Bijal, Inc., 2019 WL 6253275 (D. Mass.) (unpublished), a case that addresses insurance coverage for a claim of kidnapping and sex trafficking. Peerless Indemnity Insurance Company insured Bijal, the owner of…
US District Court for District of Massachusetts holds that injuries to woman kidnapped, held against her will and sex trafficked come within exclusion for false imprisonment
By Nina Kallen
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…
First Circuit holds insurer did not act in bad faith in relying on property damage estimate that was lower than policyholder’s estimate, or in delays that were also caused by the policyholder
By Nina Kallen
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…
The insurance industry and climate change
By Nina Kallen