Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Plaintiffs Delbert Soseeah, Maxine Soseeah and John Borrego filed this action against defendants Sentry Insurance, Dairyland Insurance Company, Peak Property and Casualty Insurance Company, and Viking Insurance Company of Wisconsin (collectively Sentry) claiming, in part, that Sentry failed to timely and properly notify them and other Sentry automobile insurance policyholders of the impact of two New Mexico Supreme Court decisions regarding the availability of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under their respective policies. The complaint alleged that Delbert Soseeah, after being injured in a motor vehicle accident, made a claim for UM/UIM benefits under two policies of automobile insurance issued by Sentry to Mrs. Soseeah. According to the complaint, Mrs. Soseeah “never executed a valid waiver of UM/UIM coverage under the” two policies and, consequently, Mr. Soseeah “demanded that . . . Sentry reform” the two policies “to provide stacked uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage limits equal to the limits of the liability coverage on each of the vehicles covered by the” policies pursuant to the two New Mexico Supreme Court decisions. Sentry purportedly refused to reform the policies and rejected Mr. Soseeah’s claim for UM/UIM benefits. The complaint alleged that Sentry, by doing so, violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act (UPA), violated a portion of New Mexico’s Insurance Code known as the Trade Practices and Frauds Act (TPFA), breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and breached the terms of the two policies. The district court granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. Sentry subsequently sought and was granted permission to appeal the district court’s class certification ruling. Because plaintiffs failed to establish that all members of the general certified class suffered the common injury required by Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(2), the Tenth Circuit concluded that the district court abused its discretion in certifying the general class. Because the district court’s certification ruling did not expressly address the Rule 23 factors as they applied to each of the identified subclasses, the Court did not have enough information to determine whether the district court abused its discretion in certifying two subclasses. Consequently, the Court directed the district court on remand to address these issues. View "Soseeah v. Sentry Insurance" on Justia Law

Blue Mountain Energy appealed a Benefits Review Board decision affirming an award of black lung benefits to Terry Gunderson. An administrative law judge (ALJ) originally denied benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA), and Gunderson appealed to the Board and then to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Tenth Circuit remanded for further proceedings because the ALJ did not sufficiently explain the basis for the denial. The ALJ again denied benefits, and the Board vacated and remanded the ALJ’s decision because it did not comply with the Tenth Circuit’s remand. On the second remand, the ALJ awarded benefits, and the Board affirmed. Blue Mountain petitions for review, arguing that the ALJ violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Specifically, Blue Mountain contended the ALJ gave the preamble to the regulations redefining compensable pneumoconiosis in 20 C.F.R. 718.201 the force and effect of law, even though the preamble had not been subject to APA notice and comment. Blue Mountain also contended its rights under the APA were violated when the ALJ refused to reopen the proceedings to allow it to submit evidence challenging the medical literature cited in the preamble. After review, the Tenth Circuit found no reversible error as Blue Mountain argued, and affirmed. View "Blue Mountain Energy v. Director OWCP" on Justia Law

Lee Ann Helfrich received benefits through her federal-employee health-insurance plan, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan, for the treatment of injuries she sustained in a car accident. After Helfrich reached a settlement with the other driver’s insurance company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (BCBSKC) sought reimbursement for the benefits paid, as provided in the terms of the Plan. Helfrich appealed the district court’s judgment requiring her to reimburse BCBSA and BCBSKC (together Blue Cross) because the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1959 (FEHBA) preempted a Kansas insurance regulation prohibiting subrogation and reimbursement clauses in insurance contracts. Finding no reversible error in the district court’s judgment, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "Helfrich v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield Assoc" on Justia Law