The Subrogation Strategist

Doubling down on the often quoted phrase: “All is sunny in Workers’ Compensation Subrogation,” just last week, the Supreme Court of Nevada (Supreme Court) provided a huge win for workers’ compensation subrogation professionals.

In Amtrust N. Am., Inc. v. Vasquez, No. 84974, 2024 Nev. Lexis 51, the Supreme Court overruled the much-maligned Breen ^[1] decision/formula and the Poremba ^[2] decision’s limitation on economic damages. The Supreme Court held that workers' compensation insurers may now rely wholly upon NRS 616C.215(5), Nevada’s lien reimbursement statute, to determine the amount an insurer can recover on its lien.Continue Reading

In Gallery Community Association v. K. Hovnanian at Gallery LLC, No. 1 CA-CV 23-0375, 2024 Ariz. App. Unpub. LEXIS 696 (Ct. App.), the Court of Appeals of Arizona (Court of Appeals) discussed whether a homeowners’ association can file an action for breach of the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability arising from construction defects. At issue was whether the implied warranty extended to the areas within the community that the association maintained, including the common areas. The Court of Appeals held that homeowners’ associations can sue builder-vendors for breach of the implied warranty arising from construction defects.Continue Reading

Listen to the newest episode of Subro Sessions, hosted by Lian Skaf and Matthew Ferrie, Partners at White and Williams, entitled, “How to Make the Public Sector an Ally and not a ‘Public Enemy’.” John Lightbody, CFI, CFEI, CFII, Chief Investigator and President of Find The Cause Investigations, LLC, joins Lian and Matt to talk about the best practices for subrogation professionals when working with the public sector during fire investigations including what to do on site, decorum, obtaining the proper investigation documentation and working with both federal and state ... Continue Reading

In subrogation cases where the insured’s damages were caused by a defective product, the fact that the product at issue is or was subject to a recall announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may help to establish that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s possession and control. On September 12, 2024, the CPSC announced the following recalls related to products that present fire hazards:

1. Glen Dimplex Americas Recalls Cadet Apex72 Electric Heaters Due to Fire Hazard. According to the CPSC’s website, “[t]he fan can malfunction and fail to ...

In subrogation cases where the insured’s damages were caused by a defective product, the fact that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about the product at issue may help to establish that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s possession and control. On September 5, 2024, the CPSC issued a warning urging “consumers of micromobility products—including e-bikes, e-scooters, self-balancing scooters (hoverboards), and e-unicycles—not to use chargers that are marketed as “universal” or suitable with general ... Continue Reading

In subrogation cases where the insured’s damages were caused by a defective product, the fact that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about the product at issue may help to establish that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s possession and control. On September 5, 2024, the CPSC issued a warning urging consumers to “immediately stop using SafPow SPC-42020 and AMPOWSURE ASP-C10S42020 battery chargers because they pose a risk of serious injury and death.” According the CPSC, “[u]sing these chargers with an incompatible ... Continue Reading

In Lithko Contr., LLC v. XL Ins. Am. Inc., No. 31, Sept. Term, 2023, 2024 Md. LEXIS 256, the Supreme Court of Maryland considered whether a tenant who contracted for the construction of a large warehouse facility waived its insurer’s rights to subrogation against subcontractors when it agreed to waive subrogation against the general contractor. The court ultimately decided that the unambiguous language of the subrogation waiver in the development agreement between the parties did not extend to subcontractors. The court also held that the tenant’s requirement that subcontracts include a subrogation waiver did not, in this case, impose a project-wide waiver on all parties. The court, however, found that the requirement that the subcontracts include a similar, but not identical, waiver provision rendered the subcontract’s waiver clauses ambiguous and remanded the case to the lower court to determine if the parties to the development agreement – i.e., Duke Baltimore LLC (“Duke”) and Amazon.com.dedc, LLC (“Amazon”) – intended that the waiver clause in the subcontracts covered claims against subcontractors.Continue Reading

In subrogation cases where the insured’s damages were caused by a defective product, the fact that the product at issue is or was subject to a recall announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may help to establish that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s possession and control. On August 22, 2024 and August 29, 2024, the CPSC announced the following recalls related to products that present fire hazards:

1. HALO 1000 Portable Power Stations Recalled Due to Serious Fire and Burn Hazards; One Death Reported; Imported by ZAGG; Sold by ACG, QVC and ...