Last Friday, February 16, Franklin & Prokopik employees volunteered their time at one of the Living Classrooms’ Healthy Cities Game Changers events. The program was designed to expand the scope and scale of Living Classrooms’ existing initiative to bring nutrition, fitness, and wellness education to a targeted area of East Baltimore known as the Baltimore Target Investment Zone (TIZ).  The events take place on days when Baltimore City schools are closed and provide children a safe and healthy environment.

Throughout the day, children ages 6 through 14 along with volunteers representing companies throughout Baltimore participated in activities such as yoga, volleyball, capture the flag, soccer, jump roping and crafting at the Under Armour House at Fayette.  There was also the opportunity to go ice skating at nearby Patterson Park.  Many of the students had never been on skates before and our employees had the opportunity to share this “first” with them.

Living Classrooms relies on their volunteers to ensure the success of this program. F&P is honored to have had the opportunity to work with this organization and with the bright and gifted youth of Baltimore City.

For more information on Living Classrooms mission, visit their site at https://livingclassrooms.org/.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/franklin_and_prokopik/albums/72157693623511135

Franklin & Prokopik rings in the new year announcing that three of the firm’s counsel have been promoted to firm principal and one associate has been promoted to counsel.  Demonstrating their acumen both in the courtroom and at F&P, they have distinguished themselves within the legal community.  The firm congratulates these four members of the F&P family and thanks them for their hard work and dedication.

Franklin & Prokopik’s new principals and counsel are:

Jennifer Helsel, principal, Herndon

Gregory Kennedy, principal, West Virginia

Sarah Lemmert, counsel, Baltimore

Barbara Thompson, principal, Baltimore

Delaware courts continue to refine the case law related to uninsured (“UM”) and underinsured motorist coverage (“UIM”) as codified in 18 Del. C. § 3902.  In proceeding with a UIM claim, an insured bears the burden of establishing that a particular loss falls under the coverage provisions of the applicable insurance policy.  If met, the burden then shifts to the insurer to establish that a policy exclusion applies to preclude such coverage.

In a recent decision by the Delaware Superior Court, the Court concluded that “owned-but-uninsured” exclusions in insurance policies are invalid as they relate to the availability of UIM coverage.  In Jessica Lee v. GEICO Choice Insurance Company, Plaintiff filed a claim for UIM coverage after settlement with a tortfeasor for damages she incurred in a motor vehicle accident.  Upon submission of the claim, Plaintiff learned her policy had been canceled prior to the accident for failure to make premium payments.  At the time of the collision, Plaintiff resided in the same household as her sister, who had a separate insurance policy with GEICO that also provided for UIM coverage.  Plaintiff submitted a claim under her sister’s policy, which was denied by GEICO, and the lawsuit followed.

The Court evaluated Plaintiff ’s claims in the context of prior UIM case law.  As Delaware courts have held, UIM coverage is personal to the insured, rather than vehicle-related.  The Court first found it to be “undisputed” that Plaintiff qualified as an insured under her sister’s policy, which was defined to include “[r]elatives of [the named insured] if residents of his household.”  The burden then shifted to GEICO to establish that the owned-but-uninsured exclusion applied to preclude coverage.

The Court evaluated the nature of UIM coverage as personal to the insured in the context of Frank v. Horizon Assur. Co., which also held other-motor-vehicle exclusions void as against public policy.  Unlike Delaware’s no-fault insurance law, 18 Del. C. § 3902 does not include language authorizing the use of exclusions “customary to the field”. The absence of this language led the Courts in Frank and, subsequently, Lee, to conclude that any exclusions and/or restrictions to UIM coverage must be specifically authorized by statute.  Furthermore, the Court in Lee held that owned-but-uninsured exclusions are contrary to the public policy behind § 3902, which is “the protection of innocent persons from the negligence of unknown or impecunious tortfeasors.”  In light of this holding, the Court said it need not address the coverage status of Plaintiff ’s own vehicle.

Although the Lee decision does not significantly alter the landscape of UIM case law, it underlines Delaware courts’ emphasis on the public policy behind UM/UIM coverage as codified in 18 Del. C. § 3902.  As the courts continue to adjudicate cases involving UM/UIM coverage, insurers must be mindful of the expansive nature of the statute and the court’s deference to the protection of insureds who contract for such coverage. For more information on this article, contact Noelle Torrice at  ntorrice@fandpnet.com

F&P was proud to sponsor and attend last night’s Fannie Angelos Program for Academic Excellence 4^th Annual Gala.  The event is co-chaired by F&P principal Imoh Akpan.

Each November, the gala is held in an opulent setting at the Belvedere Hotel and features dinner, drinks, and wonderful speakers from throughout Maryland’s legal community.  This year, speakers included Kurt Schmoke, president, University of Baltimore, Kristen Clarke, president and executive director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Kai Jackson, Anchor for Fox 45 News.  The event is a celebration of the unique, history-making program, which won the American Bar Association’s 2017 Diversity Leadership Award.

The Fannie Angelos Program for Academic Excellence is the result of a unique collaboration between the University of Baltimore School of Law and Maryland’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Morgan State, Coppin State, Bowie State, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore). The Program helps prepare top undergraduate students both to enter law school and to excel once they are admitted. The Program, one of the most successful of its kind in the nation, has helped over 90 students gain admission to Law School.