DTCI: Insurance policies’ notice provision
A number of recent Indiana cases have addressed the provision found in nearly all insurance policies that requires an insured to provide its insurer with prompt notice of a claim.
Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana
Articles
DTCI: Existing duty is prerequisite of negligence
To prevail on a claim of negligence, a plaintiff must show that a duty exists, that the duty was breached, and that damages resulted from that breach. It goes without saying that there can be no negligence or liability where there is no duty.
DTCI: Amendment to the Child Wrongful Death Act
Andrew Palmison discusses the possible impact the amendment to the Child WDA will have on the defense of stillbirth claims.
Why join DTCI
Call the DTCI offices and let the DTCI help you become a more effective defense attorney!
DTCI: Attention & Kudos
DTCI is seeking ideas and authors for articles for Volume 7, No. 2 of the Indiana Civil Litigation Review.
DTCI: Find your technological balance
Bryce Bennett Jr. feels compelled to reminisce and record some of the law office history and evolution that he has witnessed during his career and to note the blinding speed with which technology has overtaken our professional lives.
DTCI: Anchors away! Navigate to the DRI annual meeting
Have you ever considered what it would be like to stand aboard an aircraft carrier? Have you ever wanted to meet and learn
from a Navy Seal who survived on his own behind enemy lines in Afghanistan?
DTCI: Results from June golf tourney
Congratulations to the top two teams from the DTCI-Phenix Investigations annual golf outing.
DTCI: Kudos
Patricia Polis McCrory was chosen the president-elect to the Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis.
DTCI: Awards nominations invited
The DTCI’s Awards Committee is now receiving nominations for the 2010 awards.
DTCI: Worker’s comp liens in third-party suits
On May 27, 2010, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a decision that has affected the manner in which worker’s compensation liens are handled in third-party litigation.
DTCI: Practicing law can be gratifying, even in summertime
Recently, in a moment of self-reflection, I found myself thinking about what I find gratifying about practicing law.
DTCI: Indiana Civil Litigation Review
The next issue of the Indiana Civil Litigation Review will be on members’ desks in a few weeks.
DTCI: What I really meant to say. . .
The Seventh Circuit and the Indiana district courts have disallowed the “take home exam” theory of errata sheets, which can be particularly troublesome at the summary judgment stage.
DTCI: The broad scope of MDA preemption
In a series of decisions culminating in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., federal courts came to recognize that the
Medial Device Amendments preempted not only traditional products liability claims such as those based on an alleged defect
or implied warranty but also causes of action premised on theories such as consumer fraud.
Articles about pending cases raise concerns
At least two attorneys are questioning how some legal publications have included articles, columns, or other types of coverage on pending cases, and they worry that these articles may influence the judges on the cases.
DTCI: Effective risk transfer in a contract
For nearly every major construction project, a construction contract is entered into before construction begins. In almost all of those contracts, provisions are made for the transfer of risk.
DTCI: Decisons encourage comparative fault arguments
As Jerry Padgett and I discussed in our commentary, “Causation as a case-dispositive issue”
(Indiana Lawyer, Oct. 14, 2009), the Indiana Court of Appeals has held in favor of summary judgment for defendants
in instances in which the plaintiff’s negligence clearly intervened whatever fault may have been assigned to the defendant.
DTCI: Testifying physicians must provide written reports for opinions
Why must a defendant wait until the deposition of a plaintiff’s treating physician to discover the doctor’s opinions on injury causation, the plaintiff’s prognosis, or the permanency of the plaintiff’s injury?
DTCI: Potential Issues for Excess Insurers in Long Term Environmental Contamination Cases
Declaratory judgment actions in which policyholders seek insurance coverage for historical environmental contamination
under comprehensive general liability policies, umbrella insurance policies, and/or excess insurance policies present complex
legal, factual, and scientific issues to defense practitioners. Often, the alleged contamination at issue took place over
decades. These cases usually involve layers of policies offering potential coverage and significant uncertainty regarding
the potential scope of remediation costs.