PROVIDENCE (Dec. 18, 2015) – Stephen Adams’ Superior Court victory on behalf of a national insurance company is featured in the cover story, “Rental car company barred from suing drivers’ insurers,” in the December 21, 2015 issue of Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly.
Superior Court Judge Luis Matos granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant insurance companies, ruling that a rental car company cannot bring suit against the insurance companies of three auto policyholders who rented cars owned by the plaintiff.
In the case, the plaintiff rental company cited R.I. Gen Laws § 27-7-6 when claiming that it had the right to “initiate a direct action” against the defendant insurance companies where its rental cars were allegedly damaged while in the possession of the policyholders. The article notes that, “[Judge] Matos found that the auto policies issued by the defendant insurers provided coverage for rented vehicles in full compliance with the statute, §27-7-6.” The sixteen page decision can be found here.
“Although an appeal may be forthcoming, the result in this case will positively impact insurance companies providing auto coverage to Rhode Island residents,” Whittle said.
Whittle is an experienced civil litigator and routinely obtains favorable results for clients in the state and federal courts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in complex insurance coverage matters, bad faith litigation, employment law, and products liability litigation. Adams is an experienced trial lawyer who actively practices in the courts of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts handling a wide variety of litigation matters, including professional liability, insurance bad faith, employment and labor grievances, products liability and toxic torts, commercial disputes, and general liability. He has also handled reinsurance coverage disputes, including significant arbitration experience under the Federal Arbitration Act.
About Barton Gilman
Barton Gilman is one of New England’s leading civil litigation law firms with offices in Boston and Providence. Its experienced trial attorneys appear regularly in the federal and state courts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Providence Business News has named the firm one of Rhode Island’s Best Places to Work from 2008-2012 and again from 2014-2015.
