On March 21, 2019, Governor Northam signed Senate Bill 1619 into law, changing what remedies are available to a court faced with a potential litigant or a party who has recklessly deprived another party of evidence. The new statute provides: A party or potential litigant has a duty to preserve evidence that…
Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman partner Clint Verity recently published an article discussing the case law that plaintiffs rely upon to bring punitive damage claims against commercial drivers. You can find the article here. The article originally appeared in the Journal of Civil Litigation, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring 2018), a publication of…
Britton was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Prior to joining Harman Claytor, Britton practiced at a Maryland law firm for several years representing financial institutions regarding collections and…
A broad overhaul of Virginia Code § 38.2-2206 (Virginia’s Underinsured Motorist Statute) will result in new rights and responsibilities for claimants, tortfeasors, liability carriers and underinsured motorist carriers in settling claims. The most significant of these changes is that a liability insurer and a plaintiff may settle a claim and release the…
In Travelers Indemnity Company of America v. Portal Healthcare Solutions, LLC, the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s determination that a class action lawsuit arising out of a medical records safekeeping firm’s alleged failure to safeguard confidential medical records triggered an insurer’s duty to defend under a policy that afforded coverage…
The threat of personal injury litigation is constant for trucking companies. Each time a tractor-trailer hits the open road, trucking companies expose themselves to an unpredictable amount of risk. In addition to seeking compensatory damages, plaintiffs often seek punitive damages in an attempt to maximize their recovery. The rationale behind awarding punitive damages…
Your trucking company probably dispatches drivers into multiple states, or maybe even nationwide. During your drivers’ travels, accidents are going to happen. Sometimes your driver is at fault, and sometimes the other driver at fault. Other times, both drivers are at fault in the accident. No matter what, a traffic ticket is…
A recent case from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, held that an insurer’s underinsured motorist coverage limit totaled $500,000, effectively raising the total available coverage in connection to a motorcycle accident by $250,000. The UIM carrier had argued that its UM/UIM limit totaled only…