Technology allows people access to information and each other like never before. As technology improves, the ability to share information becomes easier. Unfortunately, our children are ahead of us in how to use this technology. Sexting, the dissemination of inappropriate material or images via text message or other technology, is a growing issue. Almost one-fifth of the teenage population admits to this practice. Serious consequences arise from this, particularly if the sharing goes further than what was intended. While there are few reported civil cases regarding “sexting,” the harm caused will certainly result in insurance claims and lawsuits. Several policy provisions need examined in order to determine coverage. First, is “sexting” an “occurrence?” Next, has the claimant suffered “bodily injury?” Is the “personal injury” coverage triggered as an invasion of privacy or some sort of injury to reputation or character? Finally, does the intentional act exclusion bar coverage to the person sharing the information or image? The homeowners claim will require extensive investigation, including interviews with upset parents and children. Law enforcement and school officials may also be involved. Possession of the inappropriate content, even as part of a claims investigation, may create complications for the claims professional, too. Be sure to get the advice of counsel on all the potential pitfalls surrounding your investigation to protect you, your insured and any of your insured’s family as the situation...
Can you imagine swimming 2.4 miles in open water, cycling 112 miles, then running a marathon race over 26.2 miles AND trying to do it all in under 10 hours? Since 2007, Danny Royce has completed seven (7) full Ironman competitions on the way to his ultimate goal of qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world, Danny has come extremely close to qualifying in several of his recent finishes. There is no doubt that he will soon meet that challenge; He has already qualified for the 70.3 (a half Ironman) World Championship to be held in Australia in September 2016. Not only are we amazed at Danny’s extreme dedication and hard work towards his personal goals, we are proud that he practices law with the same energy. Before completing law school and joining KPMLAW, Danny attended Cornell University where he earned a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management magna cum laude. During that time he was a two-year captain of the varsity men’s swim team and a three time MVP. “Nobody is going to outsmart him, and I’m damn confident nobody will out work him!” says firm president Chip Kalbaugh. “This young man is impressive in every aspect of his life. I’m thankful every day that Danny is a part of our team, because I’d sure hate to be up against him. He’s a standout. ” To learn about Danny Royce on a professional basis please visit his profile. To learn more about his extreme racing and his training regimen visit his blog. ...
Editor: Janeen Koch, Esquire Author: J.H. Revere, Esquire Those of us at Kalbaugh, Pfund and Messersmith practice every day in the various Courts of this Commonwealth of Virginia, but many of the people we work with do not have the luxury of focusing on a single jurisdiction. The following outline is a very general and simple outline of Virginia’s Court System, that will hopefully help anyone understand where a particular case sits within Virginia’s Court framework. If you have any more detailed questions please do not hesitate to contact any one of KPM’s civil litigation attorneys. We have attorneys admitted to practice in all of these Courts as well as Courts in North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. As a preliminary matter, Virginia has thirty-one (31) judicial districts comprised of ninety-five (95) counties and thirty-eight (38) independent cities, each with their own court system. For purposes of brevity we will not address Magistrates (who handle only criminal issues), Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts (divorce, child custody, juvenile crime), or the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (administrative courts). GENERAL DISTRICT COURT The General District Court is the lowest level civil Court in Virginia. They are considered a Court not “of record”. Virginia’s General District Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over matters of less than $4500.00 and concurrent or joint jurisdiction with the Circuit Courts for matters up to $25,000.00 (exclusive of interest). The General District Court has no jurisdiction over matters worth more than $25,000.00 and these matters must be filed in another Court (e.g. Circuit Court). Suits may be filed as a Complaint like in Circuit Court...
Author: Brian Cafritz, Esquire It is all too common that a customer or piece of equipment spills or drips liquid on the floor. The business learns of the problem and places a cone on the floor either prior to cleaning or after cleaning. Despite the warning cone, a guest falls and sues the business for negligence. Because Virginia applies a contributory negligence standard (1% negligence by plaintiff is a total bar to recovery), the defendant almost always has a decent liability argument to take to the jury. However, the real goal is to have the case dismissed on summary judgment and avoid the uncertainty of a jury altogether. Over the last 12 months, several new opinions in Virginia Federal Courts have provided valuable guidance on how to assess the potential liability of these claims, and they specifically point to critical facts to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate or not. In each of the cases, the court focused on fact issues, such as “How close was the cone to the fall?” and “Was the condition that caused the fall the same condition the cone was warning against? Like most states, the general law of premises liability in Virginia is that a business owes a duty to exercise reasonable care to make the particular area reasonably safe for plaintiff’s use, or to give adequate warning of any hidden or concealed danger that it knows or should know about. However, behind that basic tenet of the law, there are a seemingly infinite number of variations in fact patterns that make the simplest concept problematic. Over the years, the Virginia Supreme Court...
Editor: Rachel Riordan, Esquire Author: Robert McAdam, Esquire The “Willful Misconduct Defense” has recently been given a boost by the Court of Appeals in Layne v Crist Elect. Contr., Inc. 64 Va. App. 342, 768 S.E.2d 261 (2015). Under familiar statutory law (Virginia Code §65.2-306(A)(5)) workers’ compensation benefits will be denied to a claimant when the claimant commits a willful breach of a workplace safety rule brought to his attention prior to the accident; even though the underlying event would otherwise be compensable. This statute was recently reinvigorated by Layne. In Layne, the claimant was an employee of an electrical contractor and a subcontractor performing electrical work in a warehouse owned by Delta Star. The claimant was installing electrical conduit from a scissor lift high up in Delta Star’s core cutting room and had almost completed installing the conduit. Delta Star’s bridge crane, which was operational at the time, hit claimant’s scissor lift, causing both the scissor lift and claimant to fall far to the floor. The claimant sustained catastrophic injuries. The Claimant’s accident arose out of and occurred in the course of the employment. However, the Employer raised a willful misconduct defense, asserting the bridge crane would not have hit the scissor lift, and the injuries would not have occurred, if the claimant had rendered the bridge crane inoperable by following the “lockout-tagout” safety procedure. This procedure ensured that the electrified rails which allowed the bridge crane to move were inoperable, ensuring that the crane could not move. At hearing, the evidence showed the claimant was never given any written materials addressing the “lockout-tagout” procedure and did not...
Gary Reinhardt, Managing Partner in KPM’s Coverage & Fraud Department, answers questions related to recent changes to the Underinsured Motorist Law. ...
