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Two Small Words, One Great Divide
Even the smallest words can carry controlling meaning. At least, that's what the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Mutual Benefit Insurance Company v. Politsopoulos, where it joined the majority of other jurisdictions that have considered the issue in holding that a policy providing an exclusion for an employee of “the insured” meant an employee of the insured seeking coverage under the policy, but not of any of the other insureds under the policy, or even of the Named Insured.
This question, involving the interpretation of two seemingly straightforward words, has lingered in the insurance industry for over 50 years. In 1961, the Insurance Counsel Journal published an article by Norman Risjord and Jane Austin, titled “Who Is 'The Insured'” Revisited, which addressed just this question. Risjord and Austin explained that insurers had always intended the term “the insured” to refer only to the entity claiming coverage. However, at that time, nearly all courts that had addressed the issue had reached a different conclusion ' holding that “the insured” could mean any of the insureds under the policy. “Ironically, this is the only known situation where many of the courts persist in erring in favor of the insurance companies.” Norman E. Risjord and Jane M. Austin, “Who Is 'The Insured'” Revisited, 28 Ins. Counsel. J . 100, 101 (1961) (emphasis in original).
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.
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.
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?
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.