On May 11, 2016 President Obama signed the “The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016” (“DTSA”). The bill that the President signed had broad bipartisan support, passing the House of Representative with a vote or of 410 in favor and two against and the Senate by a unanimous vote. Before the enactment of DTSA, statutes regulating trade […]
Insurance Coverage Law in Massachusetts
In-depth legal analysis, by Massachusetts insurance lawyer Owen Gallagher, on a myriad of insurance coverage issues and disputes.
Landy Agency Wins E&O Suit against Utica Mutual over Unfair Competition Exclusion
On April 19, 2016 the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a decision in favor of the Herbert H. Landy Insurance Agency, Inc. (“Landy Agency”), of 75 Second Avenue, Needham, against the Utica Mutual Insurance Company “Utica”). The Court’s ruling found that Utica had a duty to defend a suit […]
Statutory Payment Bond Ruled To Require Claim For Payment
On March 14, 2016 the Massachusetts Appeals Court decided the case of N-Tek Construction Services, Inc. (“N-Tek”) v. The Hartford Fire Insurance Company. This case decided that under a public contract an electronic mail message given by a construction manager unpaid by a subcontractor did not trip a right to payment under the general contractor’s statutory […]
What You Need to Know about the E&O Risk of Your Electronic Signature
Most people think of a “contract” as a paper document signed by both parties to be charged. Since the advent of the electronic signature, however, that no longer applies in all cases. The purpose of this article is to alert agencies to a possible risk arising out of electronic signatures in making an inadvertent contract […]
United States District Court Holds That Insurance Agent Is An Independent Contractor
February 1, 2016 – This is a guest post from Nina Kallen who writes a blog about insurance coverage issues in Massachusetts.
