When Does A Litigant Waive Arbitration? Recently, the Fourth Circuit again examined whether a party's participation in litigation amounted to a waiver of arbitration. In Rota-McLarty v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24447, (4th Cir. 2012) the Court reversed a decision from th...
The Maryland Insurance Administration (“the MIA”) has jurisdiction over claims that an insurance carrier has violated Md. Code, Ins. Article, § 27-303, which prohibits unfair claim settlement practices by refusing to pay claims for an “arbitrary or capricious reason” or “failure to act in good fa...
Recently the 4th Circuit found a subcontractor's insurance carrier owed a duty to defend the general contractor in the case of Capital City Real Estate, LLC v. Certain Underwriters, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9662 (4th Cir. 2015). The salient facts were as follows: A common wall between two homes colla...
Insurance companies have the right to defend their insureds under a “reservation of rights” so as to preserve the denial of indemnity should a claim fall beyond the scope of coverage. See, e.g., Brohawn v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 276 Md. 396 (1975). This common practice of providing a defense whil...
Medical malpractice plaintiffs in the District of Columbia must first comply with the statutory notice provision set forth in D.C. Code, § 16-2802, which require that “[a]ny person who intends to file an action in the court alleging medical malpractice shall notify the intended defendant of his o...
Disciplinary actions against licensed health care professionals in Maryland are an anxiety inducing experience all wish to avoid. The process often seems unfair to the medical professional considering the system, as currently designed, allows Boards to act as the investigator, prosecutor, judge a...
Is Cost an Impediment to Arbitration Cases? A frequent challenge to the enforceability of arbitration agreements is the assertion that the expenses attendant to this form of alternative dispute resolution are cost prohibitive. For example, the American Arbitration Association has a host of fee sc...
Arbitration Agreements For Healthcare in Maryland In 2010, the Maryland Court of Appeals considered as a matter of first impression in this State whether an arbitration agreement was enforceable in the nursing home setting. See, Dickerson v. Longoria, 414 Md. 419 (2010). Amici Curiae briefs from ...
Although the procedure is different, under the law in both the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland, trial courts may award monetary sanctions for frivolous litigation. In Maryland, the decision is controlled by Maryland Rule 1-341, which provides: In any civil action, if the court find...
Recently, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia reaffirmed the use of a forum selection clause in the consumer context. See, Hara v. Hardcore Choppers, LLC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162552 (D.D.C. 2012). That case involved a forum selection clause in a Final Work Order for mo...
Maryland False Claims Act Recoveries in 2012 According to recent published sources, Maryland collected approximately $10 million under state and federal False Claim Act provisions in 2012. Examples include a nearly $160,000 settlement against a Baltimore County Home Health Agency accused of submi...
In Shannon v. Fusco, 438 Md. 24 (2014), the Maryland Court of Appeals held that expert testimony was required to establish the “material risks” of a procedure to recover in an action for a physician's failure to obtain informed consent. “Material risks” is the patient-oriented standard adopted by...
Under Maryland law, defendants in products liability cases often rely upon the “economic loss rule” to avoid liability for certain harm. Application of the economic loss rule in the construction context was recently clarified by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Cash & Carry Am., Inc. v. ...
It is axiomatic that the COVID-19 global pandemic has had an enormous impact on our health care profession. After months of serving our communities as front-line responders, health care providers now find themselves subject to potential administrative and civil liability. News reports regarding...
Under Maryland law, a contractor's (or subcontractor's) liability to a third party is often determined by a foreseeability test. This general principle was recently clarified by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Cash & Carry Am., Inc. v. Roof Solutions, Inc., 2015 Md. App. LEXIS 79 (2015)...
In 1986 Congress enacted the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA). Part of that Act was designed to prevent incompetent health care providers from moving amongst states to avoid the discovery of their incompetence. 42 U.S.C. § 11101. A central part of that mission was the creation ...
Recently the Maryland Court of Appeals had the opportunity to review a Business Pursuit Exclusion in a homeowner's insurance policy in the case of Springer v. Erie Ins. Exch., 439 Md. 142 (2014). That case arose from a declaratory judgment action filed in the Circuit Court for Frederick County af...
Blackstone It'l, Ltd. v. Maryland Cas. Co., ___ Md. App. ____, No. 2301 (Md. App. Feb 28, 2014). Full Opinion: https://www.mdcourts.gov/opinions/cosa/2014/2302s12.pdf In the recent decision of Blackstone Int'l v. Maryland Cas. Co., the Maryland Court of Special Appeals held that a plaintiff's cla...
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