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Colleen Murphy Quoted in “Fla. High Court Limits Tort Claims Doctrine In Marsh Suit,” Law360

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Colleen Murphy Quoted in “Fla. High Court Limits Tort Claims Doctrine In Marsh Suit,” Law360

March 7, 2013
Colleen M. Murphy

Colleen M. Murphy, co-chair of Goldberg Segalla’s insurance agents and brokers practice, was interviewed by Law360 on a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling involving the application of the economic loss doctrine.

In this case, the article notes, a deeply divided Florida Supreme Court ruled that the economic loss doctrine applies only to product liability cases. The Eleventh Circuit had asked the Florida high court to decide whether insurance brokers could use the doctrine to crush tort claims brought by policyholders who have suffered only economic losses through their relationships with brokers.

Colleen, who was not involved in the case, told Law360 that the decision took away a shortcut for insurance agents and brokers looking to dismantle similar claims. But she stressed that defendants still had other tools at hand, including tort and contract law principles.

“You never want to lose the ability to use a doctrine like this as a defense,” Colleen told Law360. “It’s not a good decision for insurance agents and brokers, but they may have other avenues of getting these types of claims dismissed.”

Read the article here: