Property

Expert Analysis

• 11 Essential Questions When Reviewing Hurricane Insurance

  

  As we approach peak hurricane season, business owners must understand critical coverage elements, policy limitations and claim procedures of their commercial property hurricane insurance policies to protect their operations effectively, says Carlton Wilde at Bracewell LLP.

• Utilizing Rep And Warranties Insurance In CRE Transactions

  

  With insurance and commercial real estate legal trends suggesting that representations and warranties insurance is likely to grow substantially in the next several years, CRE buyers and sellers should learn how such insurance can help resolve conflicting positions during transaction negotiations, say attorneys at Troutman.

• How Courts Are Addressing The Use Of AI In Discovery

  

  In recent months, several courts have issued opinions on handling discovery issues involving artificial intelligence, which collectively offer useful insights on integrating AI into discovery and protecting work product in connection with AI prompts and outputs, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

• How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

  

  Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

• How NY Appeals Ruling Alters Employers' Sex Abuse Liability

  

  In Nellenback v. Madison County, the New York Court of Appeals arguably reset the evidentiary threshold in sexual abuse cases involving employer liability, countering lower court decisions that allowed evidence of the length of the undiscovered abuse to substitute as notice of an employee's dangerous propensity, say attorneys at Hurwitz Fine.

• What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

  

  As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

• Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law

  

  Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.

• How To Strengthen A Case By Mastering Expert Witness Prep

  

  A well-prepared expert witness can bolster a case's credibility with persuasive qualifications, compelling voir dire responses and concise testimony that can withstand cross-examination, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

• Tesla's Robotaxi Push Exposes Gaps In Product Liability Law

  

  As Tesla's deployment of robotaxis on public roads in Austin, Texas, faces regulatory scrutiny and legislative pushback, the legal community confronts an unprecedented challenge: how to apply traditional fault principles, product liability laws and insurance practices to vehicles that operate as rolling computers, says Don Fountain at Clark Fountain.

• 8 Insurer Takeaways From Sweeping Georgia Tort Reform

  

  Insurers should take note of several critical components of Georgia's tort litigation overhaul — including limitations on damages anchoring, procedural rules governing dismissals, and liability standards in negligent security cases — and adapt claims-handling strategies to reduce litigation risk, says Lucy Aquino at Cozen O'Connor.

• 3 Juror Psychology Principles For Expert Witness Testimony

  

  Expert witnesses can sometimes fall into traps when trying to teach juries complex topics by failing to consider the psychology of juror comprehension, but attorneys can help witnesses avoid these pitfalls with a deeper understanding of cognitive lag, chunking and learning styles, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

• State Farm Rate Hike Portends Intensifying Insurance Crisis

  

  The California Department of Insurance's unprecedented emergency approval of a 17% rate increase for State Farm General Insurance, the first interim rate relief granted before completing full actuarial justification, represents a regulatory watershed and establishes precedent that could fundamentally reshape insurers' response to climate-driven market instability, says Daniel Veroff at Merlin Law Group.

• 3 Corporate Deposition Prep Tips To Counter 'Reptile' Tactics

  

  With plaintiffs counsel’s rising use of reptile strategies that seek to activate jurors' survival instincts, corporate deponents face an increased risk of being lulled into providing testimony that undercuts a key defense or sets up the plaintiff's case strategy at trial, making it important to consider factors like cross-examination and timing, say attorneys at Dentons.