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JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Feb. 11 that the term “occurrence” in a commercial general liability insurance policy cannot be construed to preclude coverage for unexpected or unintended “property damage” resulting from a subcontractor’s negligent acts or conduct (Architex Association Inc. v. Scottsdale Insurance Co., No. 2008-CA-01353-SCT, Miss. Sup.; 2010 Miss. LEXIS 71).
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NEW YORK - The New York federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the Bernard L. Madoff proceedings on March 1 granted approval to the court-appointed trustee’s “Net Investment Method” for determining net equity for individual claimants (In Re: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, No. 08-01789, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.; 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 495; See February 2010, Page 7).
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NEW ORLEANS - Oral arguments are scheduled for April 7 in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the defense appeal of a $2.4 million judgment for a welder and his wife who prevailed in a March 2008 trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi; notice of the calendar date was entered into the docket Feb. 26 (Robert E. Jowers, et uxor v. Air-Gas Gulf States Inc., et al., No. 09-60396, 5th Cir.; See December 2009, Page .
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With technology, a legal department can speak with a single voice, think with a single mind, and act like a partnership even with lawyers dispersed around the world. Consultant Rees W. Morrison discusses 20 techniques that increase coherence and effectiveness in a spread-out department.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on March 8 affirmed an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that attorneys are debt relief agencies when they provide qualifying services but reversed the appellate court’s ruling that a portion of the federal bankruptcy abuse act governing what advice such relief agencies can give to clients is unconstitutionally overbroad and violates the First Amendment rights of attorneys (United States of America v. Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, et al., No. 08-1225; Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, et al. v. United States of America, No. 08-1119, U.S. Sup.).
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CHICAGO - A $14.6 million settlement was reached Feb. 24 in an Illinois circuit court, bringing to a close an action involving a student who broke his neck and was rendered quadriplegic while using a mini trampoline during an extracurricular tumbling class more than 17 years ago (Ryan Murray, et al. v. Chicago Youth Center, et al., No. 2007 L 3832, Ill. Cir., Cook Co.).
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SAN FRANCISCO - Material misrepresentations on an employment practices liability policy application entitle the insurer to rescind the policy, a California federal judge ruled Feb. 17 (Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. v. RDD Inc., et al., No. C 09-00856, N.D. Calif.; 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13633).
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Denying a reinsurer’s motion to disqualify an arbitration umpire because the umpire serves as the reinsurer’s adversary’s party-appointed arbitrator in other unrelated disputes, a federal judge in Connecticut on Feb. 22 noted that because these arbitrators are experienced, they will often have relationships with the parties (Arrowood Indemnity Company v. Trustmark Insurance Company, No. 03-cv-01000, D. Conn.; See 2/5/10, Page 5).
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FORT WORTH, Texas - A Texas jury found March 1 that a couple pursuing a long-running battle with their builder deserve more than $58 million in compensatory and punitive damages, but the builder plans to appeal the verdict (Robert E. Cull and S. Jane Cull v. Perry Homes, et al., No. 236-184813-00, Texas Dist., 236th Judicial Dist., Tarrant Co.; See September 2008, Page 6).
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Opponents of Chicago’s handgun ban in McDonald v. Chicago argued that the high court should solely rely on secondary sources and not digital searches of original material that aim to prevent “Barbie dolls in the archeological dig,” where advocates read modern facts into the historical record.

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