News
JOSH LEVY wins summary judgment in commercial coverage dispute involving catastrophic injury. Josh Levy recently won a summary judgment in federal court in an insurance coverage dispute on behalf of a commercial liability insurer. The case arose out of a catastrophic accident at a construction site in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The insured was a general contractor. The contractor’s president hired his company and used its employees to construct his new home. One of the employees suffered a spinal cord injury when a masonry wall he was reinforcing collapsed. The employee collected workers’ compensation through the contractor’s workers’ compensation policy. After collecting over $2 million in benefits, the employee sued the contractor for personal injury damages, claiming that he was a guest of the contractor’s president, rather than an employee, at the time of the accident. The contractor’s general liability policy contained an Employer’s Liability Exclusion, which excluded coverage for work-related injuries to employees. The court ruled that this exclusion applied to the employee’s personal injury lawsuit, because his injuries were clearly work-related, and his claim that he was the president's guest was inconsistent his earlier claim in that he was the contractor's employee eligible to receive workers’ compensation. The ruling eliminated the client’s potential exposure to a multi-million dollar judgment. (see opinion).
MARLOW CONNELL is proud to be recognized by U.S. News - Best Lawyers® as a BEST LAW FIRM for 2011-2012. Additionally, Joel Adler and Andrew Connell were named in Best Lawyers® for 2011-2012.
SCOTT NEWMAN was recently appointed to the Managing Partner Task Force of the International Association of Defense Counsel. Scott, along with six other defense practitioners throughout the country, has been asked by this internationally recognized defense organization to develop strategies for law firms working closely with 21st century business.
JENNIFER HOFFMAN recently spoke on "Managing and Responding to a Crisis" along with a co-presenter as part of the CLE program to the Retail and Hospitality Law Committee at the DRI Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
SALLY SELTZER was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Florida Defense Lawyers Association.
JENNIFER HOFFMAN has been appointed as Vice-Chair of DRI's upcoming Retail and Hospitality Seminar to be held at the Swissôtel in Chicago May 10 and May 11, 2012.
SCOTT NEWMAN and RENEE DANIELS, in what appears to be a case of first impression in Florida, recently obtained a summary judgment in the U.S. Dist. Ct. S.D.Fla., voiding the Employer's Liability coverage part of a combined Worker's Compensation and Employer's Liability Policy issued to a contractor, Sandi Construction, insured by Commerce & Industry Ins. Co. for material misrepresentations in the application for coverage. The ruling eliminated the carrier's exposure for liability in a wrongful death suit arising out of a workplace accident. (See Opinion).
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