Archive

Sometimes business and people make misrepresentations to their clients or during the course of a transaction. You buy a car that you were told hadn’t had any prior problems, only to determine that it has flood damage. A business owner sells his company and remembers to disclose all his assets so he can get top […]

A Not Uncommon Scenario in Obtaining Life Insurance A person wants to obtain a life insurance policy and goes to an insurance agent’s office. The person and the insurance agent discuss his needs and complete the application. The application is a computerized form, so the insurance agent types in responses or clicks buttons as they […]

McNamara v. Benchmark Ins. Co.: An indemnity action that arises from an underlying claim of medical malpractice is time-barred if commenced more than four years after the medical injury is incurred, pursuant to Alabama Code (1975) § 6-5-482. Facts of the Matter In December 2009, Ricky Avant’s doctor prescribed him to take Tobramycin for two weeks. […]

I enjoyed the opportunity today to speak to the group attending the “Insurance Coverage Litigation” seminar in Birmingham. Like my previous two speaking opportunities at NBI events, this group was engaged and inquisitive, which is always nice at CLEs. The topics I covered were “Recent Insurance Coverage Decisions in Alabama” and” Creatively Framing Your Coverage Position.” […]

Once an insured is aware of the existence of a claim, she has a reasonable time to put the insurer on notice of the claim, and if she fails to do so, any potential coverage may be extinguished. Compliance with the notice requirements in an insurance policy is a condition precedent to recovery [or defense.[1] An […]

Warren Grimes and Johanna Grimes v. Alfa Mutual Ins. Co.: Where there is not an omnibus or other clause requiring it in an automobile liability policy, neither Alabama law nor public policy require an insurer to provide coverage for the driver of a motor vehicle who did have not the express permission of the owner […]

GEICO v. Sharon Bell, administratrix of the estate of Kaysha Bell: An insurer’s denial of liability coverage to an individual because of an applicable liability exclusion (i.e., household exclusion) or definition does not trigger the availability of uninsured motorist coverage to the individual under the same policy. Pertinent Facts In June 2013, Kaysha Bell was […]

Delores Aderholt v. Sandra R. Aderholt McDonald: The general rule in Alabama is that the named beneficiary of a life insurance is entitled to the proceeds from the policy, and the general rule is not usually interrupted by divorce and has only two exceptions. The Facts of the Matter In 1993, Alfa Life Insurance Corporation […]

Under Alabama Code (1975) § 27-14-1, an insurance policy is comprised of a “written contract of, or written agreement for, or effecting, insurance, by whatever name called, and includes all clauses, riders, endorsements, and papers attached, or issued and delivered for attachment thereto and made a part thereof.” In order for an endorsement to be […]

Jimmy L. Johnson, Jr. v. First Acceptance Insurance Company, Inc.: In Alabama, UIM coverage may only be rejected by an insured in writing, but the unanswered question is whether an electronic signature is sufficient for rejecting UIM coverage. The parties in this case squandered an opportunity to have the court decide what would have been […]