Argument: September 2010

Keywords: Consumer Protection - Insurance - Statute of Limitations

Question Presented: Whether a government consumer protection action “accrues” when the violation occurs, or when the government has reason to know of it.

Facts: Anawan Insurance Agency paid commissions to a broker from 1997 to 2001, even though the broker’s license had expired early in the relationship. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance discovered …

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Argument: September 2010

Keywords: Contract Law - Insurance

Question Presented: Whether the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund cap of $300,000 per claim applies to each claimant, or may apply in the aggregate to all claims arising from a single incident if specified by the policy.  

Facts: After a doctor allegedly provided negligent care to Richard Smith, Smith and his wife and two children filed tort claims for bodily injury and loss of consortium. The doctor’s …

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Argument: September 2010

Keywords: Disabilities - Employment - Insurance

Question Presented: Whether a workers’ compensation self-insurance group qualifies for payments from the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund when its excess insurer is insolvent.

Facts: The Massachusetts Care Self-Insurance Group (“MCSIG”) is a self-insurance pool of nursing home care businesses, designed to meet the member businesses’ duties under the Workers Compensation Act. As of 1995 …

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Argument: September 2010

Keywords: Insurance - Malicious Prosecution

Question Presented: Whether the tort of malicious prosecution occurs, for insurance and indemnity purposes, on the date the malicious lawsuit is filed, or on the date it is terminated in the defendant’s favor.

Facts: In 1998, the plaintiff, Billings, sued the Petersons over a proposed wetlands development. The case was dismissed in April 2000 as a result of an earlier settlement. In March 2000 …

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