Unethical Claims Cultures Promote Outcome Oriented Expert Reports
Nicole Vinson's post State Farm Sued for Fraud for Katrina: More Altered Engineering Reports Alleged, a recent filing by my co-liaison counsel Steve Mostyn, and one by Javier Delgado, prompted me to...
View ArticleFEMA Takes Over Sandy Flood Claims from WYO Carriers
Brad Kieserman has taken swift and bold action regarding Superstorm Sandy National Flood Insurance claims. In a filing made this morning in Superstorm Sandy litigation, a March 5, 2015 letter from...
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The Mother's Day Storm of Insurance Claim Denials
Hope every mom had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I was at the Tampa Club yesterday with my mother, Alice Merlin. Before going to brunch and observing the most beautiful views of glistening Tampa Bay from...
View ArticleAppointing An Umpire for an Appraisal--Do You Have To File a Lawsuit?
I listened carefully to a speech, Point/Counter Point - Update on Appraisal and Insurable Interest Principles of Property Insurance Procedures for the Public Adjuster, given by attorneys Jeffrey...
View ArticleFlorida Assignment of Benefits - Another Perspective
Dick Tutwiler posted an interesting perspective regarding assignment of property insurance claims in Florida Property Insurance Legislative Wrap 2015 - We made it through another year unscathed or did...
View ArticleNAPIA Annual Meetings and Celebrating My First Public Adjuster Speech 30...
It is funny how thirty years in a career can seem to go like the snap of your fingers. NAPIA's 2015 Annual Meeting is being held at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. My first NAPIA meeting was the...
View ArticleSteve Badger Stricken as Biased Appraiser
Steve Badger must really be wondering "What the Hail is Going On?" after federal judge Walter Smith struck Badger as an appraiser for Great American Assurance Company. In Is Steve Badger’s View of Hail...
View ArticleA Hail Dented Roof is Covered Direct Physical Damage and Loss
Only insurance company claims managers and their paid for lawyers could argue that a hail dented roof is not a covered loss under a property insurance policy which specifically covers hail damage. A...
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Happy 4th of July from Merlin Law Group
All of us at Merlin Law Group wish you a happy and safe 4th of July.
View ArticleRigsby Sisters Win Qui Tam Appeal Regarding Fraudulent Handling of Katrina...
Cori and Kerri Rigby have won their appeal and have been granted the ability to expand their claims of fraud regarding the adjustment of NFIP claims from Hurricane Katrina.1 The Fifth Circuit Court of...
View ArticleAn American Insurance Lawyer in England and What Insurance Practitioners Can...
Last month after a case settled just before trial started, I spent a couple of weeks in Paris and London. I promised Oxford and Texas A&M Presidential scholar George Edwards last year I would try...
View Article"Overturning Appraisal Awards for Bias and Seeking Discovery from Appraisers:...
Challenges to appraisal awards and to appraisers are becoming more commonplace. While speaking on an American Bar Association panel in Phoenix, I think somebody heard some of my very frank comments...
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Judge Robert Fall's Impact on Superstorm Sandy Litigation in Ocean County New...
Friday was the last day the special Superstorm Sandy docket in Ocean County New Jersey was under the authority of Judge Robert Fall. Anybody writing the history of Superstorm Sandy litigation would be...
View ArticleInsurance Companies in The Construction Repair and Restoration Business
A recent trend in the property insurance industry is that some companies are buying or making partnerships with insurance repair and restoration companies. They are literally trying to profit from the...
View ArticleChip Merlin Speaking at the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association...
Insurance appraisal topics are one of the hottest topics on the property insurance landscape. The Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association asked me, as a "special guest speaker," to talk about my...
View ArticleUmpire is Biased Based on His Firm's Work for a Party---Are Appraisers...
As I stated in yesterday's post, Chip Merlin Speaking at the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association September 18 Meeting, umpires better show up so they to learn from me and not lose business. The...
View ArticleFEMA Flood Back to Slow Mo with Old Guard in Place
Brad Kieserman is a leader. He took over a National Flood Insurance mess caused by others previously overseeing the National Flood Program and changed the culture. Unfortunately, the Red Cross hired...
View ArticleWhy The Tom Brady Decision is Similar to Insurance Altered Engineering and...
The Tom Brady legal victory is being criticized, lauded, and talked about by millions in our fanatical football country. Unlike the vast majority of fans—and being a nerdy insurance lawyer—I read the...
View ArticleMerlin Law Group Attorney Patrick McGinnis Turns Fifty
Merlin Law Group Houston based attorney Patrick McGinnis turns 50 today. I wrote a blog about me turning 50, Chip Merlin Turns Fifty Years Old. So, I thought I could write one for Patrick.What does a...
View ArticleTexas Insurers Acting in Bad Faith During Subrogation
Insurance companies in Texas are one of the most litigious entities, filing lawsuits and making tort subrogation claims after paying policyholders for first-party property damage claims. Claims...
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