We buy homeowner’s insurance to protect our homes against perils. So, many homeowners are surprised to learn that their policies may exclude things that they believed were covered. For instance, many policies exclude water damage caused by defective construction. Such was the case in Friedberg v. Chubb & Son, Inc.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has rejected the “Blame the Lawyer” argument.  In Remodeling Dimensions, Inc. v. Integrity Mutual Insurance Co., a contractor argued that its attorney’s representation was so bad as to constitute a breach of the insurer’s obligation to appoint counsel.   As Shakespeare said, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral argument on 1/12/10 on a case of first impression, to be decided under Missouri law as to whether an insured’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights violates the “cooperation clause” in his insurance policy and thereby voids coverage under the policy. The facts of […]

1) Three-years of litigation, three-week trial, one day’s jury deliberation: Plaintiffs zeroed… In a long and certainly hard-fought class action battle against Allianz Life Ins. Co. of Golden Valley, plaintiffs, led by Karl Cambronne came up empty-handed. Allianz was repesented by a phalanx of lawyers from Jordan Burt, which focuses on insurance and financial services. […]

Today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune includes an AP story about a Missouri lawyer apparently getting rich by taking on mega hog farms in lawsuits in Missouri arising out of the apparently noxious odors that emanate from such businesses.To file under, “Gosh Darn That E-Mail,” the article reports that,  “In an internal memo accidentally e-mailed to The […]

We have all seen the promotions — a free box of steak if you get your windshield replaced at a particular vendor. Here’s the legal backdrop giving rise to the box of steaks: Minnesota law requires auto insurance. Minnesota law requires that auto insurers cover windshield replacement. Minnesota law provides that insureds are allowed to […]

Plaintiff artist made paintings, “Infamous Golf Holes,” which he submitted to GM’s Cadillac division for possible use in advertising about ten years ago. Cadillac took a pass but then, plaintiff believes, misappropriated his images or ideas in Cadillac advertising. (Aside: plaintiff appears to have made more than $3 million with his golf paintings over the […]

In a published decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Court reversed a Scott County District Court whose decision had been adverse to an insured defendant in a car accident case. The defendant reported the accident to his insurer and then, apparently, could not be located when the lawsuit was filed. The insurer hired […]

The Minnesota Supreme Court: “We are persuaded by the reasoning of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the trend of other courts in concluding that trademark infringement falls within the plain and ordinary meaning of ‘infringement of title.’” [Editorial aside: isn’t “plain and ordinary meaning of ‘infringement of title’” either a paradox or an oxymoron?] The […]

Michael Foods, Inc. has brought an insurance coverage claim against U.S. Specialty Insurance Co. in United States District Court (D. Minn.) based on a coverage claim for Michael Foods’ costs in connection with responding to a subpoena of the U.S. Department of Justice. The policy is a $10,000,000 Directors & Officers policy. The subpoena was […]