Under the proposed law, sellers of fake ids would be held liable for the damages caused by their patrons.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2007/10/16/84308.htm?print=1
Monthly Archives: October 2007
“Don’t Deal with Lawyers”
Lawyer Elana Glatt was married recently in Manhattan and has now sued her florist for $400,000 because he allegedly substituted pastel pink and green hydrangeas for dark rust and green. These substituted flowers apparently clashed with the linens, favor boxes, and the wedding cake. The cost of the flowers was $27,000. The florist responded to the suit by saying his father told him, “Don’t deal with lawyers. Maybe he was right, God bless his soul.” And on a personal note, as the father of three daughters, we will be happy with any color and any bloom available, and $27,000 is out of the question.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/nyregion/16flowers.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
NJ’s Dram Shop — A Giant settlement.
This well-known case (which has made the NJ appellate rounds) involves a Giants fan who became (in whole or in part) intoxicated at a game. After the game, he crashed his car into a young girl. The case has been settled, but watchdog groups allege that the court file and settlement agreement should not be sealed.
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1192439005316
NY’s First Department: Site of insurance contract trumps site of injury.
In a silica exposure case involving parallel lawsuits in CA, PA and WV, NY kept control over the coverage disputes.
http://www.loislaw.com/advsrny/flwhitview.htp?lwhitid=6986625
SDNY denies Lloyd’s motion for summary judgment because key JB term was undefined.
In the case of Alex & Alex Diamonds, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, Lloyd’s attempted to disclaim coverage because the JB policy did not provide coverage for commission salesmen. Alex & Alex argued that the man from whom the $160,00 worth of jewelery was stolen was not a commission salesman, but rather an employee. Trial court held that because policy did not define term “commission salesman”, it could not determine as a matter of law whether individual was (or was not) a commission salesman.
http://web2.westlaw.com/welcome/NewYork/default.wl?fn=_top&rs=WLW7.09&mt=NewYork&vr=2.0&sv=Full
NYC to increase construction site fire code inspections.
The Deutsche Bank tragedy has some positive implications.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2007/10/10/84098.htm?print=1
RIMS Predicts Continued Soft Commercial Insurance Market
The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. predicts a continued softening of commercial insurance rates with rare exception. Encouraging for commercial insureds, the trend is expected to continue in all segments of the market with the exception of property insurance. The RIMS survey is consistent with the experience relayed by many WCM clients: increasing capacity and competition have resulted in a downward pressure on rates.
http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?articleId=23133
Gun dealers strike back — in Georgia.
In 2006, NYC sued gun dealers and argued that their illegal activities had resulted in crime in NYC. The suit is scheduled for trial in January. The dealers responded with a suit of their own in Georgia. That suit has been cleared to proceed.
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1191488595580
Appeals court questions sovereign immunity defense in WTC MC 100 case.
MSG and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas whacked in employment case
In a public relations nightmare, a federal court jury found Madison Square Garden and James Dolan, its Chairman, liable for sexual harassment, creating a hostile work place and retaliation. The jury apparently credited the account of former MSG executive Anucha Browne Sanders that Knicks coach Isiah Thomas made unwanted sexual advances and directed crude language towards her. The jury awarded $11.6 million dollars including a punitive damages award against Dolan of $3 million dollars. Defiant to the end, Dolan and Thomas vowed to appeal.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/02/thomas.suit.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText