Michigan Supreme Court To Reconsider Scarsella v Pollak

Continuing a recent trend of granting leave in medical malpractice cases, the Michigan Supreme Court recently granted the plaintiff’s application for leave in Ottgen v Katranji to address whether its 2000 opinion in Scarsella v Pollak, 461 Mich 547 (2000) was “correctly decided.”  In Scarsella, the Michigan Supreme Court held that a timely complaint filed without the affidavit of merit required by MCL 600.2912d does not toll the statute of limitations.  Chief Justice McCormack and Justice Viviano recently expressed […]

By | January 6th, 2022 ||

Appellate Arguments In The Age Of COVID

The COVID pandemic has impacted the practice of law in many ways including moratoriums on jury trials, conducting depositions remotely on ZOOM platforms, and courthouses being closed to the public. For the most part, however, the appellate courts have continued to function with modifications made to allow lawyers “appearing” before a panel of judges by telephone or through virtual means. Some courts have even granted specific requests by having one of the parties appear […]

By | January 4th, 2022 ||

New York Court Of Appeals Rules That $140 Million Disgorgement Payment To SEC Is Not An Uninsurable ‘Penalty’

On Nov. 23, the New York Court of Appeals held in a 6-1 ruling that an investment firm’s $140 million disgorgement payment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was not a “penalt[y] imposed by law” under the firm’s wrongful act insurance policies, and thus was not necessarily excluded from coverage.1In 2006, Bear, Stearns & Co. and Bear, Stearns Securities Corporation made a $160 million disgorgement payment to settle charges that they had facilitated […]

By | December 9th, 2021 ||