The U.S. District Court for Maryland issued an opinion this week denying summary judgment in Gilliespie v. Ruby Tuesday, a res ipsa premises liability case. Case Facts The facts are simple. Plaintiff went to a Ruby Tuesday in Aberdeen, Maryland, for lunch. Before the plaintiff and her friends were seated,…
Will strict liability for pit bulls in Maryland cost the state $30 million in state and local tax revenue and cut back rental incomes to the tune of $144 million? Hard to believe. But these folks have numbers to make their argument. If these estimates are even half right, it…
Dr. Louis Halikman is an orthopedic doctor that many insurance companies in Maryland – most notably State Farm – frequently used to defend car accident cases. “Frequently” is probably charitable; by his own admission, he makes somewhere between $30,000 and $35,000 a month providing expert services for insurance companies. Am…
I have recently received a good bit of heated interest in my last two posts (here and here) on the Maryland Court of Appeals opinion in Tracey v. Solesky, in which the court held that in dog bite cases involving a pit bull or cross-bred pit bull mix, plaintiff no…
This blog post is an exception to the usual “personal injury related only” rule on this blog. The Maryland Court of Appeals (Maryland’s “supreme court”) ruled unanimously today that Maryland must recognize as married same-sex couples who legally wed in other states. A married same-sex couple from California sought a divorce…
Runaway juries are a big problem in medical malpractice cases. Juries see a sympathetic plaintiff and, unchecked by reason, they write oversized checks. Liberal judges aid and abet the crime. This belief has taken deep root in Maryland – and in most states – that has led to the enactment…
The Maryland Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Nicolas v. State, a Montgomery County criminal case. The primary issue on appeal dealt with double jeopardy, merger of offenses, and a bunch of other stuff I have long forgotten about since law school. But the case also raised on appeal…
We sent Progressive Insurance a demand letter in a case where the client had some pretty serious injuries, including 50 staples in her head to close a scalp laceration. Progressive faxed us a letter stating it cannot conclude its investigation until we obtain different bills from the medical providers that…
The Connecticut Supreme Court ordered a new trial this week in a medical malpractice case for an interesting reason: the defense expert testified at trial that malpractice lawsuits drive up health care costs by forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine. The big issue in the case was whether appropriate standard…
The Governor signed yesterday a bill that allows auto insurance companies in cases where the at-fault driver has insufficient insurance coverage to consent to settlements against the at-fault driver without (1) limiting their right to raise any issue relating to liability or damages in an action against the insurer; and…