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Settoon, Starr and Beyond
The vast majority of jurisdictions do not enforce strict compliance with a policy's notice provisions unless the insurer was prejudiced by the insured's failure to timely report a covered event. That general rule is not without exception, however. A pair of recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shows that an exception to this general rule in the context of notice provisions located in pollution buyback clauses is slowly gaining momentum, even in jurisdictions that traditionally require an insurer to show it was prejudiced by the insured's delay. Both recent decisions, Starr Indem. & Liab. Co. v. SGS Petroleum Serv. Corp., 719 F.3d 700 (5th Cir. 2013), and In re Matter of Complaint of Settoon Towing, L.L.C., 720 F.3d 268 (5th Cir. 2013), draw heavily on the Fifth Circuit's earlier decision in Matador Petroleum Corp. v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 174 F.3d 653 (5th Cir. 1999).
In Matador, the Fifth Circuit, without regard to whether the insurer suffered any prejudice, applied Texas law to enforce strict compliance with a notice requirement contained in an exception to the policy's pollution exclusion. In Starr, the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed that Matador remained good law despite some potentially adverse post-Matador decisions by the Texas Supreme Court. And in Settoon, the Fifth Circuit went a step further. It applied the Matador logic and reasoning to a case involving Louisiana law, and concluded that the insurer was not required to show prejudice as a predicate to strict enforcement of the notice provision, even though Louisiana is traditionally a notice-prejudice jurisdiction.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With Lawyers
There's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
When Is a Repair Structural or Nonstructural Under a Commercial Lease?
A common question that commercial landlords and tenants face is which of them is responsible for a repair to the subject premises. These disputes often center on whether the repair is "structural" or "nonstructural."