The Kansas Tort Claims Act, K.S.A. §§ 75-6101 to 6120 (“KTCA”) addresses sovereign immunity for Kansas governmental entities. K.S.A. § 75-6104 identifies the types of functions and claims as to which state and local governmental entities (and employees acting within the scope of governmental employment) are immune from liability. As Read More
On Friday, June 14, 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the statutory cap on non-economic damages in personal injury actions (e.g., for pain and suffering) violates the Kansas Constitution. See Hilburn v. Enerpipe LTD., __ P. 3d __, 2019 WL 2479464 (Kan. June 14, 2019). Specifically, the court held Read More
In an April 4, 2019 post, Christina warned that property/business interruption insurance policies often contain internal limitations periods that require policyholders to bring any lawsuits within 12 or 24 months. She also gave advice on how to address those short limitations periods. See [Permalink]. In the two months since Christina’s Read More
In an April 10, 2019 post, Katie Bechina and I explained how cashing the insurer’s check might eliminate rights to additional insurance proceeds under a legal doctrine called “accord and satisfaction”. See [permalink] In short, we said that, if the insurer and the insured have a bona fide dispute and Read More
The majority of state supreme courts considering the issue over the last 20 years have determined that negligent or unintentional defective construction that causes property damage is an “occurrence”, potentially giving rise to coverage under a Commercial General Liability insurance (“CGL”) policy. See Black & Veatch Corp. v. Aspen Ins. Read More