Supreme Court backs ‘straightforward’ interpretation of professional indemnity insurance terms – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 23rd, 2017 in appeals, class actions, holidays, insurance, law firms, news, solicitors, Supreme Court by sally

‘The term ‘a series of related matters or transactions’ in a professional indemnity (PI) insurance policy merely requires some inter-connection between the matters or transactions, and not an ‘intrinsic’ relationship, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd March 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Special Damages for Physiotherapy Costs: Rates Limited to the Charges of the Physiotherapist Offered by the Defendant’s Insurers – Zenith PI Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2017 in costs, damages, insurance, news, personal injuries, physiotherapists, rehabilitation by sally

‘On 22.3.17 I represented the Defendant’s insurers at a Stage 3 road traffic accident assessment of damages hearing before Deputy District Judge Lingard in the Leeds County Court, at which the rates of charge recoverable for physiotherapy treatment received by the Claimant were limited to the rates charged by the physiotherapist whose treatment was offered by the Defendant’s insurers.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 22nd March 2017

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Supreme Court backs insurer’s bid to cap liability for multiple claims against law firm – Legal Futures

‘The Supreme Court has sided with a leading professional indemnity insurer in interpreting the rules that govern the way insurers can aggregate multiple claims against solicitors.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd March 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

NHS trust triples injury payout to £9.3m under controversial new rules – The Guardian

‘The first case settled under controversial new compensation rules for serious injuries has seen an NHS trust forced to nearly triple its payout to a 10-year-old girl left with cerebral palsy from £3.8m to £9.3m.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

CREDIT HIRE IN THE COURT OF APPEAL AGAIN – MCBRIDE –v- UK INSURANCE LIMITED; CLAYTON –v- EUI LIMITED [2017] EWCA Civ 144 – Zenith PI Blog

Posted March 17th, 2017 in insurance, news, road traffic by tracey

‘As Flax LJ neatly states at the beginning of his leading unanimous Judgment, “These two appeals are the latest round in the long-running battle between the motor insurance market and the credit hire companies”. Both appeals concerned the question of the correct approach to the assessment of damages in respect of a pecunious claimant.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 16th March 2017

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

ATE insurer escapes £320,000 costs liability because of policy breaches – Litigation Futures

Posted March 7th, 2017 in contracts, costs, damages, insurance, news by tracey

‘An after-the-event insurer (ATE) has escaped liability to pay out £320,000 after the High Court found that its insured had breached four conditions precedent in the policy.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th March 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Legal expenses insurers will pick up the baton as Ministry of Justice whiplash reforms reduce access to justice for many – Litigation Futures

Posted March 2nd, 2017 in insurance, news, personal injuries, small claims by sally

‘Leading legal expenses insurer DAS is predicting an increase in demand for motor legal expenses insurance (MLEI) as a result of the Ministry of Justice’s response to the proposed personal injury reforms announced last week.’

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Litigation Futures, 1st March 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge convicts Leeds ‘cash for crash’ killers – BBC News

Posted March 1st, 2017 in conspiracy, fraud, homicide, insurance, juries, news, road traffic by sally

‘Three men involved in a “cash for crash” scam which killed an 88-year-old woman in Leeds have been convicted.’

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BBC News, 27th February 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Payday loans complaints rise 22% despite FCA clampdown – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2017 in banking, complaints, consumer credit, financial regulation, insurance, news, statistics by tracey

‘Complaints to the financial ombudsman about payday loans have risen to almost 200 a week – and not all of those experiencing problems necessarily fit the image of low-income borrowers relying on short-term loans to get by.’

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The Guardian, 28th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New UK laws address driverless cars insurance and liability – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 24th, 2017 in bills, damages, insurance, news, personal injuries, road traffic by sally

‘Insurers would be primarily responsible for paying out damages stemming from accidents caused by ‘automated vehicles’ under new UK legislation laid before the UK parliament’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd February 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Regulators should recognise that drivers cannot be expected to stay in-the-loop in highly autonomous vehicles – Technology Law Update

Posted February 23rd, 2017 in computer programs, consultations, insurance, news, road safety, road traffic by sally

‘The UK Government’s response to last year’s consultation on driverless cars concluded that the current approach of rolling regulatory reform was the right one, giving the flexibility to adapt to technological change and enabling innovation in a step-by-step way. The focus should be on technologies that are near to market, working to facilitate their safe introduction to UK roads.’

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Technology Law Update, 22nd February 2017

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

New MIB Untraced and Uninsured Drivers Agreements – Zenith PI Blog

‘The new agreements come into force for accidents occurring after 1 March 2017. They were published on 13 January 2017 with the following statement:

MIB paying a claim for the damage to an uninsured driver’s car when it has been caused by another uninsured or a ‘hit and run’ driver seems counter-intuitive. However, from 1 March 2017 that is what MIB will be required to do.

Paul Ryman-Tubb, Chief Technical Officer at MIB said: “Whilst we will deal with these claims in a professional manner, the principle of using honest premium paying motorists money to pay for the damage to an uninsured driver’s car seems crazy.”’

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Zenith PI Blog, 21st February 2017

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

“Irrevocable undertaking” to pay adverse costs not enough to defeat security application – Litigation Futures

Posted February 20th, 2017 in costs, indemnities, insurance, news, undertakings by sally

‘An irrevocable undertaking by a claimant company’s owner to pay adverse costs is not equivalent to after-the-event (ATE) insurance and so not enough to defeat an application for security for costs, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th February 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Strict Interpretation by Court of Appeal of Condition Precedent in Favour of Insured by Court of Appeal – Park Square Barristers

Posted February 17th, 2017 in contracts, insurance, interpretation, news by sally

‘As with many insurance policies, the Respondent’s policy with the Appellant insurance company contained a condition precedent requiring the insured to notify its insurer “as soon as possible after the occurrence of any event likely to give rise to a claim”. The Appellant withdrew indemnity to the Respondent in respect of a claim, contending that such condition precedent had not been met.’

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Park Square Barristers, 23rd January 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Insurance surgery: liability & multi-party accidents abroad – New Law Journal

Posted February 17th, 2017 in accidents, conflict of laws, EC law, insurance, news, personal injuries by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has provided welcome clarity on determining which laws should apply in cross-border cases, says Kelvin Farmaner.’

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New Law Journal, 16th February 2017

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Law firm insurer fails in High Court bid to recover property fraud losses from solicitor – Legal Futures

Posted February 17th, 2017 in fraud, insurance, money laundering, news, solicitors by sally

‘A highly experienced solicitor who breached the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 in a property transaction that led to a £500,000 fraud did not act dishonestly, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 17th February 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Untraced Drivers Agreement in force after 1st March 2017 – Park Square Barristers

‘If an injured person cannot identify the fault driver of another vehicle, this is the agreement which governs their rights to compensation. In many instances, this is because the accident was a classic “hit and run”; indeed the MIB have stated that 12% of accidents in which the accident was reported to the police and a person was injured were such “hit and run accidents”. (That statistic is not as significant as it would seem at first blush; the majority of relatively minor road traffic accidents are not reported to police; the reason that such accidents are reported is that the other vehicle has made off without stopping so to a certain extent it is a self-selecting criteria). No details of the fault vehicle or the driver tend to have been obtained or recorded so an injured person’s only option would be the Untraced Driver’s Agreement.’

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Park Square Barristers, 8th February 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Post-Brexit on the pistes: winter sports and EU law – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Accident victims may struggle to get recompense if access to joined-up European laws is lost when the UK leaves the EU.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 14th February 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law Society intervenes in high-stakes appeal over the ‘£400 club’ – Litigation Futures

Posted February 9th, 2017 in appeals, costs, fees, insurance, law firms, Law Society, news, pre-action conduct by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has invited the Law Society to intervene in a highly significant hearing this month in which insurers are trying to recover millions of pounds in RTA claims portal fees from claimant solicitors in the so-called ‘£400 club’.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th February 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Costs information provided for mediation is “pure fact” and can be used on assessment – Litigation Futures

Posted January 24th, 2017 in arbitration, costs, insurance, news by sally

‘Costs information that was provided for the purposes of a confidential mediation could later be used in the assessment of costs, Master Haworth in the Senior Courts Costs Office has decided.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd January 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com