Collateral Estoppel

Insurer Did Not Waive Arbitration by Waiting for Claim Against Tortfeasor to Conclude

An injured automobile owner pursued claims against the driver who caused the accident, while her own carrier, whose policy could be implicated by the underinsurance of the driver at fault, waited on the sidelines. After reaching an end result with th… Read More
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Equitable Subrogation Claim Limited by Outcome of Insured Party Lawsuit

A carrier pursuing a subrogation claim has no better rights than its insured. This may seem elementary and logical, but a New York court has had to remind one carrier of this standard. The abutter to a construction project made an insurance claim for… Read More
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How not to sue the Queen – a lesson in judicial restraint

One strength of the US legal system is that people get their day in court even when they don’t deserve it. An obviously-patient US Magistrate Judge has issued a careful and thoughtful ruling dismissing a lawsuit that should never have been filed in… Read More
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Owner’s Claim for Defective Work Not Barred by Prior Arbitration

A contractor who successfully pursued payment in arbitration objected when the public authority owner subsequently filed a lawsuit claiming defective work. The contractor argued that the lawsuit was barred by doctrines of res judicata or collateral e… Read More
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