Britton was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Prior to joining Harman Claytor, Britton practiced at a Maryland law firm for several years representing financial institutions regarding collections and…
A broad overhaul of Virginia Code § 38.2-2206 (Virginia’s Underinsured Motorist Statute) will result in new rights and responsibilities for claimants, tortfeasors, liability carriers and underinsured motorist carriers in settling claims. The most significant of these changes is that a liability insurer and a plaintiff may settle a claim and release the…
In Travelers Indemnity Company of America v. Portal Healthcare Solutions, LLC, the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s determination that a class action lawsuit arising out of a medical records safekeeping firm’s alleged failure to safeguard confidential medical records triggered an insurer’s duty to defend under a policy that afforded coverage…
The threat of personal injury litigation is constant for trucking companies. Each time a tractor-trailer hits the open road, trucking companies expose themselves to an unpredictable amount of risk. In addition to seeking compensatory damages, plaintiffs often seek punitive damages in an attempt to maximize their recovery. The rationale behind awarding punitive damages…
Your trucking company probably dispatches drivers into multiple states, or maybe even nationwide. During your drivers’ travels, accidents are going to happen. Sometimes your driver is at fault, and sometimes the other driver at fault. Other times, both drivers are at fault in the accident. No matter what, a traffic ticket is…
A recent case from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, held that an insurer’s underinsured motorist coverage limit totaled $500,000, effectively raising the total available coverage in connection to a motorcycle accident by $250,000. The UIM carrier had argued that its UM/UIM limit totaled only…
It is increasingly difficult for defendants to win at the demurrer stage in negligence cases in Virginia. A recent Virginia Supreme Court decision further eviscerated the power of the demurrer and confirmed the Court’s apparent change in direction on this issue, away from the requirement that Plaintiffs must allege proximate cause and…
Stan Wellman has a broad civil litigation practice, which includes the areas of transportation and trucking, premises and products liability, construction, day care, defamation, sexual abuse, admiralty, aviation, toxic tort,…