In his February 2019 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoints column, Michael “Mickey” Passman examines a recent federal decision confirming the rule that the insured has the burden of demonstrating coverage.

While the Jones Act and general maritime law provide injured maritime workers with remedies, these remedies, as reflected in a recent federal decision and the precedents it follows, are not available to every maritime worker who sustains an injury on the water. In Ross v. W&T Offshore, Inc., 2018 WL 6492762 (E.D. La. Dec. 10, 2018) (slip copy), the court, reinforcing the threshold requirements necessary for seeking relief under the Jones Act and general maritime law, rejected the contention that an employee injured on an oil platform permanently affixed to the sea floor can seek recovery under either the Jones Act or general maritime law.

In his January 2019 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoints column, Michael “Mickey” Passman examines a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision confirming that an insurer’s duty to defend is determined by the facts alleged against the insured, not the legal labels used to characterize those facts.

A Connecticut judge recently dismissed lawsuits filed by thirty-seven cities seeking to recover economic losses allegedly arising from the opioid epidemic, calling efforts to determine which of twenty-five pharmaceutical defendants caused the cities’ losses “junk justice.”  R. Patrick Bedell and Kevin F. Harris of BatesCarey’s Opioid Coverage Task Force analyze this notable...

In his November 2018 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoints column, Michael “Mickey” Passman examines how the Illinois Supreme Court’s recent ruling in American Family Mutual Insurance Co. v. Krop applied the two-year statute of limitation claims against insurance producers.

On November 1, 2018, the women of BatesCarey and insurance professionals throughout Chicago gathered at Swift & Sons for the first annual Tea Talk: Women Empowering Women to network, enjoy the company of colleagues and discuss emerging workplace trends in the context of insurance coverage.  

Michael “Mickey” Passman examines an Illinois federal judge’s recent ruling in a coverage dispute case, Tracy Holdings LLC v. West Bend Insurance Co., in his October 2018 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoints column. At issue was the value of insurers’ use of “catch all” reservation of rights statements in denial letters, particularly in avoiding application of “mend the hold” and waiver doctrines under Illinois law in ensuing litigation.

In this feature titled Outside the Courts from the October 2018 CLM Magazine, Adam H. Fleischer examines whether the solutions to America’s opioid crisis will come from the courts, the insurers or broader societal changes.

Michael “Mickey” Passman examined the Illinois Appellate Court’s decision of Direct Auto Insurance Co. v. Sinclair in his July 2018 Insurance Law IICLE Flashpoint column. At issue was whether a misrepresentation in the insurance application that increases premium renders the policy void.

On June 28, 2018, the Justice Department Announced charges against  601 individuals for their alleged participation in the opioid epidemic resulting in more than $2 billion in losses.