Court Finds Potential Conflicts In Denying Insurer’s Motion to Dismiss Claim for Independent Counsel
October 12, 2026 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe District Court denied the insurer’s motion to dismiss the additional insured’s claim that the appointment of independent counsel was required. S. Cal. Edison Co. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co of Am., 2025 U.S. DIst. LEXIS 148495 (C.D Calif. July 15, 2025).
Southern California Edison Company (SCE) entered a Master Services Agreement with its contractor, SASCO whereby SASCO agreed to provide services concerning electrical pole repair and replacement. SASCO was required to obtain primary and excess general liability policies and to name SCE as an additional insured. SASCO obtained such policies from Travelers, naming SCE as an additional insured. The policies limited coverage for SCE to covered damages arising from SASCO’s work.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Chambers USA Recognizes Hunton’s Insurance Coverage Practice in 2026 Guide
June 29, 2026 —
Hunton Insurance Recovery BlogHunton is pleased to announce that its insurance coverage practice was recognized nationally for Insurance: Dispute Resolution – Policyholder in the recently released 2026 Chambers USA guide. The team also received state rankings in Florida (Insurance: Dispute Resolution), Georgia (Insurance), the District of Columbia (Insurance: Policyholder), and Massachusetts (Insurance).
In addition to the insurance team’s group recognition across multiple states, the 2026 guide included individual rankings for
Lorelie “Lorie” S. Masters (USA Nationwide and District of Columbia),
Latosha M. Ellis (District of Columbia),
Michael S. Levine (District of Columbia),
Koorosh “KT” Talieh (District of Columbia),
Walter J. Andrews (Florida),
Andrea DeField (Florida),
Cary D. Steklof (Florida),
Lawrence J. Bracken II (Georgia), and
Geoffrey B. Fehling (Massachusetts).
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Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Properly Taking Judicial Notice of Florida’s Building Code
October 12, 2026 —
David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal UpdatesMany construction defects cases involve Florida’s Building Code. A recent non-construction case, BSREP II PBG Resort, LLC v Ginsburg, 2026 WL 265226 (Fla. 4th DCA 2026), discussed a court taking judicial notice of a provision in the Florida Building Code. This case was a premise liability case where the plaintiff tripped in an asphalt parking lot. The plaintiff, without complying with proper procedural notice protocol, asked the court to take judicial notice of a section of Florida’s Building Code, i.e., admitting this section as relevant evidence in the case. The trial court granted the request for judicial notice and the plaintiff used this as the basis of her cross-examination, the jury instructions, and closing argument that the violation of this section of Florida’s Building Code was evidence of negligence. This was in error.
First, Florida’s Building Code is NOT a statute but an administrative rule. Ginsburg, supra. As an administrative rule, a court “may” but is not obligated to take judicial notice of the rule – it is a permissive judicial notice request per Florida Statute s. 90.203 and 90.202(9). This is important because the trial court viewed Florida’s Building Code as a statute it mandatorily had to take judicial notice of per Florida Statute s. 90.201, which was in error. Because it was permissive, the plaintiff needed to comply with statutory procedural notice protocols, which the plaintiff failed to do.
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David Adelstein, Kirwin NorrisMr. Adelstein may be contacted at
dma@kirwinnorris.com
373 Snell & Wilmer Attorneys Recognized in the 2027 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
October 06, 2026 —
Snell & WilmerPHOENIX – Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that 373 of the firm’s attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® including the prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” honors, and “Ones to Watch” list. Attorneys listed as Ones to Watch typically have been in practice for five to nine years.
“Lawyer of the Year” recognition is awarded to individual lawyers with the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. Only one lawyer is recognized for each practice area and location. The following Snell & Wilmer attorneys were named 2027 “Lawyer of the Year” award recipients: Cortland P. Andrews, Troy J. Aramburu, Brian L. Blaylock, M. Lawrence Brown, Brian D. Cunningham, Michael M. Donahey, Jason Ebe, Matthew P. Fischer, Brett W. Johnson, Nathan G. Kanute, William A. Kastin, Timothy J. Kay, James D. Kilroy, Joseph A. Kroeger, Matthew L. Lalli, John F. Lomax, Anne M. Meyer, Robin L. Miskell, Patrick J. Paul, Amit D. Ranade, and M. Roxanne Veliz.
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Snell & Wilmer
Best Lawyers Recognizes 33 White and Williams LLP Lawyers
August 24, 2026 —
White and Williams LLPWhite and Williams LLP is pleased to congratulate our attorneys recognized among the 2027 Best Lawyers in America® rankings.
Best Lawyers® has recognized Michael W. Horner, Chair of the Healthcare Group and Managing Partner of the Cherry Hill, NJ Office, as a 2027 "Lawyer of the Year” in the area of Litigation - Insurance for Cherry Hill. Michael Horner’s has extensive experience litigating, mediating and arbitrating complex catastrophic cases throughout multiple jurisdictions in the Northeast, with litigation and counseling experience that spans several decades in the areas of healthcare, catastrophic loss and employment matters in multiple state and federal jurisdictions.
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White and Williams LLP
Louisiana Enacts Important Tort Reform Legislation
May 12, 2026 —
Lee M. Peacocke & Benjamin Perkins - Lewis BrisboisThe Louisiana legislature enacted tort reform legislation in 2025 to address the increasing cost of insurance in Louisiana and to provide some predictability to the Louisiana legal system. While our colleagues, Jenny Michel and Jennifer Kretschmann, have provided an excellent and comprehensive analysis of the legislation in their article entitled “Louisiana State Legislature 2025 Regular Session: Tort Reform - Acts & Vetoed Insurance Bill,” which can be found
here, this article examines the anticipated impact of the tort reform legislation on personal injury trials in federal and state courts in Louisiana.
The most significant reform involves the institution of a modified defense of contributory negligence, which went into effect on January 1, 2026. Since 1996, Louisiana had operated as a pure comparative fault state; the liability of each party whose fault caused damages was to be allocated among the respective parties based upon their appropriate percentage of fault, regardless of the legal theory of liability asserted against each party. Thus, a plaintiff 55 percent at fault could recover 45 percent of their damages from the liable defendants. The 2025 Tort Reform Amendments now prohibit a plaintiff in a personal injury action from recovering any damages if they are found to be 51 percent or more at fault for their damages. The 55 percent at-fault party in the example above is now prohibited from recovering any damages from any party. Importantly, this new legislation now requires the trial court to instruct the jury that if they find a plaintiff to be more than 50 percent at fault, then the plaintiff will not recover any damages.
Reprinted courtesy of
Lee M. Peacocke, Lewis Brisbois and
Benjamin Perkins, Lewis Brisbois
Mr. Peacocke may be contacted at Lee.Peacocke@lewisbrisbois.com
Mr. Perkins may be contacted at Benjamin.Perkins@lewisbrisbois.com
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White and Williams LLP Secures a Clean Sweep Dismissal of Architect's Professional Liability Coverage Lawsuit
August 16, 2026 —
Daniel E. Bryer & Brendaliz Minaya Ruiz - White and Williams LLPWhite and Williams LLP achieved a complete dismissal of professional liability coverage claims through a strategic defense led by Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Practice Group attorneys Daniel E. Bryer, Partner and Brendaliz Minaya Ruiz, Associate.
In a nuanced action styled, Vincent Cusumano Architect P.C., et al. v. Berkshire Hathaway Direct Insurance Company, et al., decided in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, plaintiffs asserted twelve pre-contractual and contractual-based causes of action against their liability insurer, Berkshire Hathaway Direct Insurance Company, and its insurance agent (collectively, “Defendants”) for denying a professional liability claim arising from plaintiffs’ prior work.
Reprinted courtesy of
Daniel E. Bryer, White and Williams LLP and
Brendaliz Minaya Ruiz, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Bryer may be contacted at bryerd@whiteandwilliams.com
Ms. Ruiz may be contacted at minayaruizb@whiteandwilliams.com
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Seattle’s Residential Zoning Transformation: What Property Owners, Buyers, and Investors Should Understand
May 14, 2026 —
Lawrence S. Glosser - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCSeattle is in the midst of a significant transformation in residential land use policy. Longstanding neighborhood zoning patterns that historically favored detached single-family development are being reexamined in response to housing supply pressures, affordability concerns, and evolving state mandates.
For homeowners, purchasers, investors, and builders, these changes may create substantial new opportunities. They also create a heightened need for careful legal and practical due diligence.
While zoning reform can expand potential uses of property, it does not eliminate the many other constraints that may still govern what can actually be built.
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Lawrence S. Glosser, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCMr. Glosser may be contacted at
larry.glosser@acslawyers.com