Case Update: December 2007
In December 2007 we alerted you to a troubling ruling from a trial court which retroactively applied the new law prohibiting step-downs in UM coverage for employees of insured businesses. This ruling struck us as not only legally wrong, but also fundamentally unfair by retroactively increasing the industry’s exposure to risks it never had an opportunity to anticipate and rate.
Yesterday the Appellate Division agreed, holding in Olkusz v. Brown that the prohibition against step-downs applying to employees of insured businesses applies only to accidents occurring after September 10, 2007. Both ATLA and the State Bar Association filed amicus briefs urging otherwise. Common sense and fairness prevailed. [MORE]