This and That by Dennis Wade
Obstreperous is an adjective, meaning “noisy and difficult to control.” Some key synonyms are disorderly, undisciplined and disruptive. Defense counsel and claim professionals confront obstreperous adversaries every day. So what is the best way to deal with uncivil conduct in litigated matters? I can say for sure responding in kind only makes matters worse and lessens your chances of...Read More
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This and That by Dennis Wade
In construction, premises, products, in just about every matter that comes across our desks as coverage or defense counsel, our first question is this: “How can we spend OPM?” OPM, you ask? It’s an acronym for “OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY.” The first question is does the insured or insurer have indemnification from some other entity. An indemnity agreement is a promise to pay on behalf of someone...Read More
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This and That by Dennis Wade
Fuzzy slippers. Ugly sweaters. You can secure a design copyright or trademark registration for just about anything. Just pay the registration fee. And that is precisely why the insurance industry over, say, the last 15 to 20 years has tried to tighten-up the broad form Advertising Injury Coverage in the standard CGL policy. Have insurers succeeded by excluding “pure” infringement claims and...Read More
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Uncharted Waters – Hurricane Coverage Issues
With Harvey, Irma, and Maria roiling the insurance markets, we attach an article, first published by the New York State Bar Association, addressing the vexing wind and water issues that arise from such catastrophes. WCM is available to answer any questions you may have related to the weather calamity that is 2017. Please call Dennis or Mike with any queries. Read More
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This and That by Dennis Wade
What do Amazon and Insurance have in common? The answer, I suggest, is this: Everything and Nothing. But first I digress. For many years, the desk staff at my Manhattan apartment building really had but one job: To be pleasant and sometimes helpful to tenants coming and going. Now the desk staff has become servants of Amazon as each day UPS drivers dump hundreds of packages at the front...Read More
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This and That by Dennis Wade
On October 31, 2017, Halloween, at about 3:15 p.m., I left our Maiden Lane office to walk to the World Financial Center where I was scheduled to meet with a client. About ten minutes into my walk, my paralegal Suzi called me, “Dennis, be careful, I saw on the news scroll something about a “mass shooting near Chambers Street.” “Thanks, I’m fine,” and I kept walking west. When I reached West...Read More
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This and That by Dennis Wade
In American parlance a “cake walk” is an absurdly or surprisingly easy task. But this December when the United States Supreme Court hears Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the challenge will be anything but a “cake walk.” In fact, to decide the case, SCOTUS may have to decide whether a “cake” qualifies as a work of art. The legal fight started when Colorado...Read More
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Dennis Wade Speaks at Federal Bar Association's Art Law & Litigation Day
Dennis Wade is co-chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Art Law & Litigation Seminar in Miami, Florida on December 6, 2017 (to coincide with the launch of Art Basel). Dennis’s panels include Protecting the Art Market: Fakes, Forgeries & Freeports and Wynn’s Elbow: The Art of Dealing With Damage to Art. Read More
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This and That by Dennis Wade
Of late, insurers who write crime and fidelity coverage have been “spooked” by “spoofing” scams in which bad guys use spoofed emails to trick company executives to wire transfer funds to phony accounts. Curious about this phenomenon, I Googled “How do you spoof an email?” It’s shockingly easy as I learned from watching You Tube how-to videos and reading scores of articles that popped from my...Read More
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This and That by Dennis M. Wade
As a student of appellate advocacy, I love to argue, attend, watch, and listen to oral arguments because I am convinced they do in fact shape the outcome of the ultimate decision. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission on December 5, 2017. The argument lasted for more than an hour and consumed 108 pages of transcribed cut and...Read More
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