Insurance
Defending Property Damage Claims Under the Continuous or Repeated Leakage Exclusion
Many homeowners’ insurance policies contain an exclusion for “continuous or repeated leakage or seepage of water.” Some policies specify that “continuous or repeated leakage” is excluded where it occurs over a certain period of time (14 or more days, for example). Other policies make no reference to a required timeframe or simply state that the […]
Plaintiff’s Bodily Injury Claim Dismissed Due to Her Failure to Provide a Comparative Analysis With Her Pre-Existing Condition
Plaintiff Debbie Williams-Siraj claims to have been injured in an automobile accident on September 28, 2017, when the vehicle driven by defendant Lynne Schwartz collided with her. Although plaintiff claimed to have suffered significant injuries to her lower back including spinal disc herniations and fractures, she had been previously diagnosed with chronic and progressive lumbar […]
Appellate Division Upholds Summary Judgment Dismissal of Suit for Plaintiff’s Failure to Maintain New Jersey Automobile Insurance
Plaintiff Ramon Hernandez claimed to have suffered injuries when his car was struck in the rear on a New Jersey road by a car being driven by defendant Hannah Kurtz and owned by co-defendant Eric Kurtz. In Hernandez v. Kurtz, 2024 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 3049 (App. Div. Dec. 17, 2024), the issue was whether […]
Appellate Division Finds Coverage Under Loading and Unloading Doctrine for Donut Shop Sued in Serving Customer Hot Tea Through Drive Through Window
By: Victoria M. Adeleke, Law ClerkEdited by: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. Plaintiffs Bridgewater Donuts, LLC and Tamar, Inc. filed a lawsuit against defendant Geico Indemnity Co. seeking coverage under an automobile liability policy issued to Susan Mendelsohn-Hall. Mendelsohn-Hall alleged she suffered injuries when hot tea spilled on her at the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through, leading to […]
The Enforcement and Application of Shortened Limitations Period Clauses in Insurance Policies
In the State of New Jersey, breach of contract claims are subject to a 6-year statute of limitations. However, this often changes in the context of homeowners’ insurance policies. Often, those policies contain provisions which provide that any suit against the insurer must be initiated within one year of the date of loss. Other policies […]
Court Finds That Plaintiff Not Entitled to PIP Benefits For Injury While Operating an Electric Scooter
Plaintiff David Goyco was involved in an accident in which an automobile struck him while he was operating a low-speed electric scooter. He applied to his auto insurance company, Progressive Insurance Company, for personal injury protection (PIP) benefits to pay for his medical expenses. The issue in Goyco v. Progressive Insurance Company, 2023 N.J. Super. […]
Breaching the Verbal Threshold for an Automobile Accident Injury through Scarring or a Permanent Injury
The Verbal Threshold is a requirement set by the New Jersey Legislature for an individual to be compensated for bodily injuries suffered in an auto accident. The Verbal Threshold, or the Limitation on Lawsuit option, was created to reduce the cost of car insurance by limiting a person’s ability to seek compensation for noneconomic damages. […]
Joint Insurance Fund’s Self-Insurance Found Not To Trigger Other Insurance Clause
The issue in the Supreme Court case, Statewide Insurance Fund v. Star Insurance Co., 2023 N.J. LEXIS 205 (2023), was whether the Statewide Insurance Fund (the “Fund”) or Star Insurance Company (“Star”), a commercial general liability insurance company, had the primary responsibility to pay the settlement of a negligence claim brought against Long Branch. This […]
New Jersey Enacts New Automobile Insurance Law Raising Minimum Amounts of Liability Insurance Required
Just signed into law on August 5, 2022, by Governor Murphy, is a new law raising the minimum policy amounts of automobile insurance that must be provided for automobiles registered or principally garaged in the State of New Jersey. Previously, the minimum automobile insurance policy limit for a policy of insurance (except for a basic […]
New Jersey Appellate Division Rules that Injured Plaintiff May Sue His Insurance Carrier for Bad Faith Damages Due to Delay in Approving Medical Test and Surgery
Plaintiff Miguel Vera injured his right shoulder in a September 10, 2016 automobile accident. Thereafter, he submitted a personal injury protection (“PIP”) claim to his automobile insurance company, State Farm Indemnity Company (“State Farm”), to pay for his medical expenses incurred by his injuries suffered from his accident. In Vera v. State Farm Indem. Co., […]
Betsy G. Ramos
redbanknaacp
Stephen Gilbert
Tom Begley
Connect With Capehart Scatchard