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Misrepresentation: Insurance Company Efforts to Avoid Statutory Requirements
More than a century ago, many states began to protect policyholders from insurance company efforts to deny coverage on the grounds of alleged falsehoods in the application for insurance, when such alleged misstatements were not material to the insurance company's decision to sell the coverage. While insurance companies have attempted by various methods to avoid such protections, courts generally have rejected these efforts and upheld statutory limitations on an insurance company's right to void coverage.
Statements in an application for insurance can be considered either representations or warranties. See, e.g., Allstate Ins. Co. v. Boggs, 271 N.E.2d 855, 858 (Ohio 1971). If an allegedly incorrect statement is considered a representation, the insurance company must prove that it is material (or possibly that it was intentionally fraudulent) before it can succeed in a misrepresentation defense or rescission action based on the alleged misrepresentation. See, e.g., Lee R. Russ & Thomas F. Segalla, Couch on Insurance, '81:26 (3d ed. 2007). A statement is material if it affected the insurance company's decision to sell coverage or establish the premium. See, e.g., Mitchell v. United Nat'l Ins. Co., 25 Cal. Rptr. 3d 627, 638 (Ct. App. 2005). If, however, the statement is considered a warranty, the insurance company need only show that the statement was untrue. It need not show that the misstatement was material in order to succeed in defeating coverage. Couch '81:26.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.