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 New case law, analysis, trends and news for those in the liability, risk management and insurance industry 
  Volume 4  |  October 2017

Drafting Liability Releases in Maryland

Six Things to Think About in Drafting Liability Releases in Maryland:
JOINT TORT-FEASOR STATUS: Under the Maryland Uniform Contribution Among Joint Tort-Feasors Act, Cts. & Jud. Proc. I § 3-1401 et seq., the concept of a “joint tort-feasor” is derived from the notion that a single injury can result from the joint actions of two or more individuals, who, putting aside defenses, may be jointly and severally liable. Each individual is severally liable for the entire damage, regardless of whether the conduct of one directly caused more or less injury compared to that of another, because they acted together with a common purpose resulting in responsibility for the common injury. Under the Act, a “release by the injured person of one joint tort-feasor, whether before or after judgment, does not discharge the other tort-feasors unless the release so provides, but it reduces the claim against the other tort-feasors in the amount of the consideration paid for the release or in any amount or proportion by which the release provides that the total claim shall be reduced, if greater than the consideration paid.” A releasing party’s status as a joint tort-feasor (or not) must be considered in preparing any release.

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The Rise of Split Claims in Wrongful Death/Survival Cases

Recently, in Spangler v. McQuitty, 449 Md. 33 (2016), the Maryland Court of Appeals examined the interplay between an injured person’s injury claim/survival action and the claims of beneficiaries under Maryland’s Wrongful Death Act. While the Court acknowledged that a wrongful death action was derivative of the injured person’s action, the Court held that Maryland’s Wrongful Death Act is a separate and distinct action for the injured person’s beneficiaries. Read More

 
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“Technically Speaking” – the Do’s and Don’ts of the New Maryland Electronic Filing Rules

For most of us, we do not get into trouble for intentionally doing something wrong. We do not steal. We do not commit fraud. We do not hurt people on purpose. But, if we are truthful with ourselves, we have sometimes looked away and then backed away when we saw someone else doing something that troubled us.Read More

Deciding Not To Look Away: Ethics v. Compliance

For most of us, we do not get into trouble for intentionally doing something wrong. We do not steal. We do not commit fraud. We do not hurt people on purpose. But, if we are truthful with ourselves, we have sometimes looked away and then backed away when we saw someone else doing something that troubled us. Read More

PK Law Supports The First Tee of Greater Baltimore

PK Law Insurance Group Associate, Anna Sholl, and fellow associates Brian Cathell, Ben Wolf and Adam Konstas enjoyed a day on the green playing for a great cause. The First Tee of Greater Baltimore helps to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. PK Law was proud to support this event.

Coming in the next issue:

The November PK Law Insurance Insights will focus on insurance issues arising out of the California wildfires and offer tips on guiding clients through probing ESI discovery.

About PK Law’s Insurance Group

PK Law’s Insurance Group is comprised of a deep bench of attorneys with an extensive range and level of experience in the insurance industry. Lead by Members Patricia McHugh Lambert and Joan Cerniglia-Lowensen, the Group is supported by Members, Steve Allen, Barry Bach, Robert Campbell and James Benjamin and Associates Kambon Williams, Talley H-S Kovacs, Aidan Smith, Kayleigh Toth-Keilty, Anna Sholl, Jennifer Harris and Jennifer Ciarrocchi. All members of the Group receive mentoring and are trained to apply the techniques and analysis that the Group’s senior attorneys use including project management, identification of the stages and how to accurately evaluate a case.

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