Articles & Cases
Commerce Ins. Co. v. Szafarowicz: the New Road-Map for Insurance Coverage Litigation’s Impact on the Related Tort Case and Circumstances in which an Insured’s Settlement with the Plaintiff Is “Reasonable” Only If It Is Within The Insured’s Policy Limits.
by Laura Meyer Gregory and John P. Ryan, Sloane and Walsh, LLP On October 1, 2019, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision in Commerce Insurance Company v. Justina M. Szafarowicz, et al. addressing the following issues in the context of a motor vehicle insurer...
The Broad Evidence Rule: A Trend in Loss Valuation
Introduction: What is the Broad Evidence Rule? Actual cash value (“ACV”) is most commonly determined by calculating the replacement cost value, less depreciation. However, there are other methods of calculation that have been adopted by courts, such as fair...
Determining Recoverable Damages for Tortious Injury to Real Property
By John A. Donovan, III and Matthew D. Rush DIMINUTION IN MARKET VALUE: The General Rule In Massachusetts, the general rule for measuring damage to real property caused by tortious injury is diminution in market value or the cost of repair. See Hopkins v. American...
We Didn’t Start the Fire: Historical Analysis and Recent Developments Regarding the Innocent Co-Insured Doctrine
Introduction While matters of first-party insurance litigation typically concern the right of the named insured to payment, the existence of multiple insureds on a single policy can complicate a coverage analysis, particularly when one of the insureds commits an act...