TEXAS UPDATE!
Chamberlain♦McHaney
TEXAS LAWYERS
After reading this edition of Texas Update!, we are sure you will agree that Paris
Hilton made a big mistake when she fired us.
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PRODUCTS LIABILITY UPDATE: In a case closely watched by the
industry, Chamberlain♦McHaney
scored a significant jury trial victory last week for the manufacturer of a
vent fan motor whose product was alleged to have caused a fire that seriously
damaged a restaurant and bar in Austin. The plaintiff alleged $1.4
million in damages and claimed the fan motor contained a defectively designed
and manufactured thermal cutoff which allowed the motor to reach extreme
temperatures thereby igniting the fire. On behalf of the manufacturer, we
blamed the fire on Mrs. O’Leary’s milk cow and that lantern she kicked over
(just kiddin’ about that part). After a week
long trial in federal court that included the testimony of eight experts from
around the country, the jury rejected all theories alleged by the plaintiff and
held for the defendant. David Chamberlain
and Cathy Kyle represented the defendant motor manufacturer.
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PREMISES LIABILITY UPDATE: Chamberlain♦McHaney also recently obtained a
summary judgment and eventually the ultimate dismissal of a suit brought by the
parents of two boys against an apartment complex in the Dallas
area. The parents sought several hundred thousand dollars in damages,
alleging that the boys were sexually assaulted on the premises by a former
tenant. The parents argued that apartment management had been grossly
negligent in failing to take measures to prevent the former tenant from
entering the premises after his lease had expired. The trial court
granted our motion for partial summary judgment on the parents’ individual
claims, and the boys claims were also dismissed shortly thereafter. The
predator is currently serving a 50 year prison sentence. David
Chamberlain and Ranelle Meroney handled the defense of the apartment complex at the
request of St. Paul Travelers Insurance Company.
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Another 3rd of June has come
and passed and we still do not know why Billy Joe McAlister jumped off the Tallahatchie
Bridge.
If you can assist us in figuring this mystery out, please let us know.
Tx/Up! has
been pondering this southern gothic tale since 1967 and our heads are starting
to hurt.
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ADDITIONAL INSURED UPDATE: Chamberlain♦McHaney obtained a summary
judgment for its client, Solectron, Inc, in a case
brought against it by IBM Corp. Solectron, as
the tenant, signed a lease agreement with its landlord, IBM.
The lease agreement obligated Solectron to obtain a
comprehensive liability insurance policy naming IBM
as the additional insured. After one of Solectron’s
employees was injured on the leased property, he brought suit against IBM
alleging his injuries were caused by a premises defect. IBM
settled with the injured employee and then brought suit against Solectron to recover over a quarter of a million dollars in
settlement and defense costs. IBM
alleged that Solectron had breached the lease
agreement by failing to obtain a liability policy that actually named IBM
as an additional insured. Specifically, IBM
alleged that Solectron’s insurance agent had issued a
certificate of insurance that stated that IBM
was an additional insured, but the policy itself failed to name IBM
as an additional insured.
On behalf of Solectron,
we filed a summary judgment motion alleging that the claim was barred by the
statute of limitations because suit had been brought more than four years after
the commencement date of the lease. In response, IBM
claimed that the statute of limitations was tolled until the date it received
notice that Solectron’s insurer had denied IBM’s
additional insured status (which was a date less than four years before IBM
brought suit). IBM also claimed that
it justifiably relied on the certificate of insurance that stated it was an
additional insured. Citing a recent Texas
Supreme Court case, Via
Net v. Safety Lights, (Tex 2006), we argued that IBM
did not exercise due diligence by merely receiving, reading and relying on the
certificate of insurance. Instead, IBM
had a duty to review the entire liability policy at the time of lease
commencement in order to assure itself that the policy actually provided
additional insured status to IBM.
The trial court agreed with us, granting a
full summary judgment for Solectron, and awarding us
the entirety of Solectron’s attorneys
fees as the prevailing party under the lease agreement. David
Chamberlain and Erin Westendorf
handled Solectron’s defense at the request of Chubb
Insurance Company.
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We will cover these and other important
cases at our full day, fully accredited, 12th Annual ULTIMATE CLAIMS
HANDLING SEMINAR
on October 5, 2007
at CityPlace Conference Center in Dallas,
Texas. Mark your calendar now! Registration forms will be
available in August.
Chamberlain♦McHaney is an AV (Highest) Rated Firm and is
listed in A.M. Best’s Directory of Recommended Attorneys.
David E.
Chamberlain
Chamberlain♦McHaney
Austin & San Antonio
512-474-9124