Articles by Jim Sams

Sams is editor of ClaimsJournal.com, the online resource and daily newsletter for property/casualty insurance claims professionals. ClaimsJournal is a member of the Wells Media Group. Sams can be reached at jsams@wellsmedia.com

Sovereign Immunity No Defense in $3B Tenn. Coal-Ash Lawsuit, 6th Circuit Rules

Sovereign immunity does not protect a federal contractor against a lawsuit filed by some 60 former employees seeking $3 billion in punitive damages for illnesses suffered after exposure to toxic coal ash during a clean-up project, a federal appellate court …

Insurers Too Late for Subrogation in Auto Parts Price-Fixing Case, Court Rules

Insurers waited too long to intervene in anti-trust litigation that brought settlements requiring dozens of auto parts manufacturers to pay a total of $1.2 billion to resolve price-fixing allegations, a panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled …

11th Circuit: Safeco Doesn’t Owe in Subro Claim by Agency’s E&O Carrier

A federal appellate court threw out a Florida jury verdict that would have required a Liberty Mutual unit to pay $1.6 million in damages for failing to defend an independent insurance agency against a lawsuit that accused it of failing …

Kansas Court: More Fact-Finding Required in Air Ambulance Case

Federal law may prohibit states from regulating prices charged to insurers by air ambulance providers, but that doesn’t absolve the Workers’ Compensation Board of its responsibility to determine whether the billed charges are “usual and customary,” a split Kansas Supreme …

FEMA Contractors Not Liable for Misrepresentations About Flood Risk

The North Fork of the White River in southern Missouri is a nationally known fly-fishing destination, teeming with brown and rainbow trout. The stream is fed from underground springs in the Ozark Mountains, keeping its waters cool on hot summer …

FEMA Contractors Not Liable for Misrepresentations About Flood Risk

The North Fork of the White River in southern Missouri is a nationally known fly-fishing destination, teeming with brown and rainbow trout. The stream is fed from underground springs in the Ozark Mountains, keeping its waters cool on hot summer …

TPA’s Quick Denials of First Responders’ Workers’ Comp Claims Draw Penalty

A workers’ compensation insurer must pay $100,000 under an agreement with Vermont state regulators because its claims administrator gave short shrift to claims for post-traumatic stress disorder and other occupational diseases. Acadia Insurance Co. on April 18 reached an agreement …

Iowa Court Finds No Coverage for COVID Income Loss in 2 Decisions

The Iowa Supreme Court last week ruled in two separate decisions that COVID-19 did not cause a physical loss or damage that would allow a private golf club or a restaurant and bar to recoup income lost during COVID-19 shutdown …

Federal Court in Delaware Requiring Disclosure of Litigation Funding Agreements

Insurers are applauding a decision by the chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Delaware to require parties to disclose whether a litigation funder has an interest in any cases brought before him. The standing order issued on Monday …

‘Deceptive’ Denial, Conflicting Policy Wording Costs Philadelphia Indemnity in Court

The insurer first said it would pay to repair a breezeway at a student housing complex that partially collapsed during a Saturday night student party. Then it said it wouldn’t, and sent the policyholder a “confusing” and “deceptive” denial letter …