Page 1 - The Suffolk Lawyer - March 2021 - Vol. 36, No. 2

Vol. 36, No. 2 - March 2021
DEDICATED TO LEGAL EXCELLENCE SINCE 1908
Business Interruption Claims and COVID
Christine Malafi, Senior Partner – Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP Rosa M. Feeney, of Counsel – Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP
uestions as to whether business in-
terruption insurance will cover
Q losses related to COVID shutdowns
and slowdowns have been asked since the
first of Governor Cuomo’s Executive Orders
requiring all non-essential businesses to shut
down and have their employees stay home.
There have been hundreds of lawsuits
against insurers seeking coverage for lost
revenue and other business interruption
losses related to COVID. In this short period
of time, there have only been a handful of
court decisions, mostly favoring insurers, but
with some policyholder wins.
Some states have proposed legislation
that would require insurers who provide
PERSONAL INJURY • SPECIAL SECTION • PERSONAL INJURY
A Plaintiff’s Primer for Medicare
and Medicaid Liens
By Michael J. Famiglietti
s a Plaintiff’s personal injury attorney, your duty is not
merely to resolve your client’s claim for the highest dollar
A amount possible. Plaintiff’s counsel must also take into con-
sideration several entities which may hold a lien against your
client’s recovery. This article will address an attorney’s obligation
with respect to reporting and repayment of Medicare and Medicaid
liens. This article is not meant to be an exhaustive trea-
tise but is intended to provide an overview of the
Medicare and Medicaid lien management process.
One practice point on liens in general must be un-
derscored: A personal injury case should not be
settled without identifying possible lienhold-
ers, obtaining a final lien amount; and attempt-
ing to reduce the lien amount.
Medicare holds a lien for any payments made for
treatment of injuries claimed in a personal injury claim. Plaintiff’s
counsel should immediately notify Medicare of the case. Although
(Continued on page 7)
★★★ INSIDE THE SUFFOLK LAWYER • MARCH 2021 ★★★
Building to be Named ★SPECIAL SECTION★ SPECIAL SECTION★
PERSONAL
for Judge Floyd page 2
Black History Month INJURY
Celebrated page 16
page 5-11
www.scba.org
property insurance to cover business inter-
ruption during the coronavirus pandemic.
What is the issue?
Business interruption coverage is provided
for in a business’s property insurance, which
provides insurance coverage for physical loss
or damage to an insured’s property.
Typical policy language (ISO form CP
0032): We will pay for the actual loss of
Business Income you sustain due to the nec-
essary “suspension” of your “operations”
during the “period of restoration.” The “sus-
pension” must be caused by direct physical
loss of or damage to property at premises
(Continued on page 24)
PRESIDENT HON. DERRICK J. ROBINSON’S MESSAGE
Bar Associations - Heartbeat of
the Legal Profession
ar associations perform essen-
tial vital functions, both in the
B legal profession and in society
at large. These include lawyers who
want to participate in pro bono work,
educate the public about legal issues,
report on developing legal trends, ad-
vocate for legal reform, and maintain
the legal profession's integrity. We
have active members who demon-
strate their commitment and love of President Hon.
the SCBA. That commitment reminds Derrick J. Robinson
us to appreciate the opportunity for each of us to get through this
unprecedented - in - our lifetime global crisis and come out stronger
in the end.
However, there are other things that bar associations provide that
are vital and irreplaceable to every lawyer's practice: getting to know
other lawyers, developing relationships, working with a community
(Continued on page 25)
An Overlooked Tool
of Trial Advocacy page 9
Converting Your Paper
Cases to E-file page 15
Important Decisions
of Interest page 19