News & Press Releases
Cavanagh Law Firm Chair of the Board Honored, Helen R. Davis Recognized Among Most Influential Women in Arizona
The Cavanagh Law Firm is proud to announce that Chair of the Board, Ms. Helen R. Davis, was recognized in Arizona Business Magazine as one of the Most Influential Women in Arizona. Arizona Business Magazine honors women changing the face of Arizona business. These...
New Statutory Changes Have Made Doing Business as an LLCs Easier
The statutes that govern limited liability company (“LLC”) have been updated in total. Chapter 7 of Title 10 now replaces the prior statutes in Chapter 4. Publication when filing Articles of Organization or changing the statutory agent has been changed for some counties. If the statutory agent lives in a county with a population of 800,000 or more, instead of…
Lessee/Tenant CERCLA Liability and Due Diligence – The Build Act of 2018 – A New Wrapper on an Old Package
Since Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA or Superfund“) 42 U.S.C.A. §§9601 – 9675, the importance of the environmental aspects of due diligence in real estate transactions has become a significant part of most commercial real estate transactions. 1 The CERCLA statute created strict liability for the costs of contamination if you happen to…
Minnesota Supreme Court Rules that Statutory Attorney’s Fees are Capped by the Policy Limit
The question of whether attorney’s fees awarded under Minnesota’s insurance unreasonable denial statute could exceed the policy limits of the policy was recently addressed by the Minnesota Supreme Court in Wilbur v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 892 NW2d...
Wyoming Adopts the Notice-Prejudice Rule
The Wyoming Supreme Court in Century Surety Co. v. Jim Hipner, LLC, 377 P.3d 784 (Wyo. 2016) adopted the notice-prejudice rule. The court also found that any policy exclusion that attempted to displace the notice-prejudice rule was void.
Kentucky Supreme Court Establishes Priority of Coverage Positioning for UM Policies
When two or more uninsured motorist policies apply, a question arises as to whether those policies should pro-rate with each other, or one of the policies should be designated as primary, with the other as excess. This issue was addressed by the Kentucky Supreme Court in Countryway Insurance Co. v. United Financial Casualty Insurance Co., 2016 WL 4488306 (Ky. August 25,…
Montana Supreme Court Determines What Standard to Utilize in Approving Consent Settlement Agreements
Recently, the Montana Supreme Court, in a split decision, found that the trial court must utilize an objective standard in considering the value of the claim and the insured’s loss of coverage when it determines the reasonableness of a stipulated settlement entered into by the insured after the insurance company wrongfully denied coverage. In Tidyman’s Management Services, Inc. v. National…
New York Appellate Court Determines Who Bears Responsibility for Orphan Share in Long Latency Continuous Trigger Cases
New York has adopted a pro-rata allocation methodology for continuous and progressive losses where coverage for all triggered policies is determined on a time-on-the-risk basis. Recently, the New York Court of Appeals in Keyspan Gas East Corp. v. Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., 143 A.D.3d 86 (Appellate Division, September 1, 2016), found that insurance companies were not required to indemnify the…
Allocating Defense Costs in Long Latency Cases in Louisiana
Louisiana has recognized a pro rata allocation method for determining indemnification in long latency exposures. However, the Louisiana courts have not resolved the issue of whether defense costs should also be allocated in those type of cases. The Louisiana Supreme Court recently resolved that issue in Arceneaux, et al. v. Amstar Corp., et al., 2016 WL 4699163 (La. September 7,…