Source: https://www.mfllaw.com/news/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 08:21:26+00:00

Document:
April 2019 – Wayne Taylor, along with an in-house claims attorney from St. Petersburg, Florida and a private practice attorney from Orlando, Florida, co-presented a class titled “Property Case Law Developments: Personal Lines” at the Property and Liability Research Bureau’s 2019 Claims Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
April 2019 – Wayne Taylor, along with a claims manager from Atlanta, Georgia and a private practice attorney from Boston, Massachusetts, co-presented a class titled “Property Case Law Developments: Commercial Lines” at the Property and Liability Research Bureau’s 2019 Claims Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
April 2019 – Wayne Taylor presented a class titled “The Appraisal Process and its Potential Pitfalls” for the property claims department of the State Auto Insurance Companies in Indianapolis, Indiana.
March 2019 – Michelle Sherman and Wayne Taylor obtained an order from the Court of Appeals of Georgia affirming summary judgment in favor of Covington Specialty Insurance Coverage in an insurance coverage lawsuit filed by Goldeagle Ventures, LLC. The case involved a claim for insurance proceeds for the destruction of light fixtures in a building following a lightning strike. The appeals court ruled that no coverage was provided for the damage to the light fixtures, which were considered a part of the building because the insured did not purchase coverage for damage to the building. The appeals court then ruled that there was no coverage because the light fixtures did not constitute business personal property, which was the only coverage purchased by the insured.
March 2019 – Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, instructed a day-long training workshop on the procedures and pitfalls of the appraisal process under a first-party insurance policy to the Appraisal Practice Group of Engle Martin & Associates, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.
March 2019 – Wayne Taylor made a presentation about appropriate topics for underwriters’ depositions to the Commercial Underwriting Department of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group in Neenah, Wisconsin.
February 2019 – Wayne Taylor once again has been selected as one of the “Top 100” lawyers in Georgia in the 2019 edition of Super Lawyers for Insurance Coverage. Selection is based upon peer recognition and professional achievement.
February 2019 – Wayne Taylor has been reappointed chairman of the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Education and Review Committee for the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Umpire and Appraiser Education and Review Committee is charged with developing educational content and proposing revisions to the application/renewal process for the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Certification Programs. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
MFL is pleased to announce that attorney Andrew M. Capobianco has joined the firm’s equity partnership. Since joining the firm, Andrew’s practice has focused on litigating high value personal injury claims and insurance coverage disputes. Andrew has successfully represented the interests of defendants, potential defendants, and insurers in all phases of litigation, including pre-suit negotiations, trials, and through appellate practice.
MFL is pleased to announce that attorneys Sharon P. Horne and Michelle A. Sherman have joined the firm’s partnership.
Sharon P. Horne specializes in defending insurance companies and corporate clients in personal injury and property damage claims. She has experience litigating a broad range of cases and has achieved countless successful resolutions for cases pending in both state and federal courts.
Michelle A. Sherman concentrates her practice on providing strategic legal counsel to insurers confronting complex coverage issues and allegations of bad faith. Since joining the firm in 2012, Michelle has successfully defended insurers on numerous occasions against claims for breach of contract and bad faith.
February 2019 – Wayne Taylor was appointed the chairperson of the Windstorm Insurance Network’s Appraisal Grievance Committee, which addresses complaints submitted about alleged ethics violations by WIND certified appraisers and umpires.
February 2019 – Wayne Taylor was elected to another term on the Board of Directors of the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum of the windstorm insurance claims industry.
January 2019 – Wayne Taylor served as a co-instructor for the WIND Umpire Certification course and the Umpire Re-certification course at the 2019 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 20th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida.
January 2019 – Wayne D. Taylor and Michelle A. Sherman successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company in a lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division. This case involved a claim by an insured for coverage under a Jewelers Mutual policy for loss of business income allegedly suffered when the insured suspended operations at its leased premises due to its landlord’s failure to remediate a foul odor and mold in the insured’s jewelry store caused by water leakage from an adjacent restaurant. Jewelers Mutual’s independent adjuster inspected the premises and determined that the mold resulted from a long-term water leak from a hot water tank in an adjacent restaurant. Jewelers Mutual denied the insured’s claim for loss of business income based on the policy’s exclusions for “continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water” and mold. The insured argued that the water leak was not the sole cause of the odor and the precise cause of the odor was never established. The Court held that Jewelers Mutual reasonably concluded that the insured’s loss of income from suspending its operations resulted from a continuous water leak from the adjacent restaurant, and therefore, was not a covered cause of loss. The Court found that the insured failed to produce any evidence to dispute that conclusion or create a question of fact that would preclude summary judgment in favor of Jewelers Mutual. The Court also granted Jewelers Mutual’s motion for summary judgment regarding the insured’s claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and bad faith.
October 2018 – Larry Domenico spoke to the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) annual Continuing Education Conference on Tuesday, October 30, 2018. The topic was “Protecting Your Commissions.” Larry has presented a number of times to the GABB and has been a member of the organization for over 15 years.
October 2018 – Wayne Taylor, along with another attorney from Atlanta, Georgia, presented a class titled “The Appraisal Process and Potential Pitfalls” for the Property Loss Appraisal Network in Canton, Georgia.
August 2018 – Wayne Taylor once again has been selected for inclusion in the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Litigation. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review.
July 2018 – Wayne Taylor was named an Attorney to Watch in 2018 by Attorney at Law Magazine.
June 2018 – Michelle Sherman made a presentation titled “Diminution in Value in the Southeast” at the Southern Loss Association’s monthly meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
May 2018 – Wayne Taylor was appointed to the Executive Board of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (“ACCEC”). The ACCEC is an organization of coverage attorneys that was formed to improve the quality of the practice of insurance law. The ACCEC focuses on the creative, ethical and efficient adjudication of disputes between policyholders and insurers over insurance coverage and extracontractual damages, a form of punitive damages awarded against an insurer, and claims alleging bad faith. The ACCEC’s mission includes educating various sectors in insurance coverage disputes, including the judiciary, legal and insurance professionals, and businesses on critical topics such as best practices and policy formation and claims handling, and bad faith.
May 2018 – Arthur J. Park’s article “What to Reasonably Expect in the Coming Years from the Reasonable Expectations of the Insured Doctrine” was recently cited by authors in the Yale Law Journal and the Temple Law Review.
May 2018 – Wayne Taylor and Sharon Horne served as members of the faculty of the Emory University School of Law Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques. The Program for Trial Techniques instructs second-year law students using the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s learning-by-doing method. The curriculum covers various facets of a trial, including theory and techniques for handling opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, closing arguments and evidentiary hearings.
April 2018 – Wayne Taylor has been reappointed chairman of the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Education and Review Committee for the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Umpire and Appraiser Education Review Committee is charged with proposing revisions to the application/renewal process for the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Certification Programs and overseeing complaints lodged against its umpires and appraisers. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an education forum in the windstorm insurance claims industry.
April 2018 – Partner Arthur J. Park was a speaker at the 52nd Annual SMU Air Law Symposium in Dallas, Texas. His topic was Indemnity Agreements in the Aviation Community: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The presentation addressed issues related to the proper interpretation of indemnity agreements in various aviation contracts, including a discussion of Georgia law and Texas law on the subject.
March 2018 – Employment attorneys John Lowery and Janine Willis obtained summary judgment in favor of MARTA and its Chief and Assistant Chief of Police in the successful defense of a civil rights complaint brought in the Northern District of Georgia. The case involved claims of race and gender discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment and state law claims including defamation and negligence brought by two former employee police officers. The federal district court dismissed all claims.
February 2018 – Janine Willis was elected to the Board of the Foundation for Improvement of Justice, a non-profit aimed at improving local, state, and federal systems of justice through recognizing and awarding programs and initiatives that have made positive impacts in both the civil and criminal judicial arenas.
February 2018 – Wayne D. Taylor and Michelle A. Sherman obtained a grant of summary judgment on behalf of Federal Insurance Company in a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The insured claimed that all jewelry items scheduled on his insurance policy had been stolen from his home while he allegedly was at the gym. As part of its investigation of the claim, Federal requested that the insured produce various specific financial records and documents and that he submit to an examination under oath. Although the insured provided a police report, jewelry appraisals, his own credit report that he obtained, and photos of the broken glass on his door that he repaired and gave a recorded statement, he did not produce any documents or information relating to his activities or financial condition around the time of the loss, such as his telephone or bank records. After several follow-up requests for the documents, and the insured’s failure to appear for his scheduled examination under oath, Federal denied the claim based on the insured’s breach of his post-loss contractual duties. The Court ruled that, as a matter of law, the insured was not entitled to any recovery because he failed to produce the documents requested by Federal during its investigation of the claim, which was a condition precedent to recovery under the policy. The Court also granted summary judgment on the insured’s bad faith claim.
January 2018 – Wayne Taylor served as the Chairman for the 2018 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 19th Annual WIND Conference held in Orlando, Florida, which drew over 1,000 attendees from all over the country. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
January 2018 – Partner and soccer enthusiast, Janine Willis, was elected to a second term as Secretary on the Board of Directors of “Soccer in the Streets, LLC” a non-profit organization that works with disadvantaged youth to educate, empower, and develop participants through sport, mentoring, and employability programming.
January 2018 – Wayne Taylor served as a co-instructor for the WIND Umpire Certification Course, the Umpire Re-Certification Course and the Appraiser Re-Certification Course at the 2018 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 19th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida.
January 2018 – Wayne Taylor was elected to another term on the Board of Directors of the Windstorm Insurance Network.
January 2018 – Wayne Taylor received the Presidential Recognition Award at the Windstorm Insurance Network’s 2018 WIND Conference. The award is presented in recognition of a member’s dedication and service to the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
December 2017 – Wayne Taylor, along with the Consuls General of Israel and India and the Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Office of the American Jewish Committee (“AJC”), participated in the lighting of the Chanukah Menorah during the Indo-Jewish Chanukah Celebration held at the Consulate of India in Atlanta. Wayne is a Vice President on the AJC’s Atlanta Regional Executive Board over inter-ethnic relations.
December 2017 – MF&L Partner Larry Domenico recently led the Rotary Club of Dunwoody’s semi-annual volunteer day at the USO in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The volunteers served lunch to over 100 military service members and their families. Larry and the firm have supported the USO through similar efforts for several years.
December 2017 – Senior Associate Arthur J. Park recently had an article published by the Mississippi Law Journal. The article was entitled Circumstantial Evidence of Negligence: The Need for Clarification in Mississippi, 85 Miss. L.J. Supra 3 (2016), and it is available at http://mississippilawjournal.org/category/supra/. Mr. Park, a graduate of Ole Miss whose practice includes subrogation, discussed the varying standards of proving a case with circumstantial evidence and the inconsistent results that the Mississippi courts have reached.
November 2017 – Wayne Taylor co-presented a class titled “When Worlds Collide – Recent Battles Over Appraisal” at the Property and Liability Research Bureau’s 2017 Large Loss Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.
October 2017 – Bill Hoitink, Partner with Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins and President of the Metro Marietta Kiwanis, recently welcomed Congresswoman Karen Handel to one of Metro Marietta Kiwanis weekly luncheon meetings. Congresswoman Handel explained various aspects of what is going on in Congress and the difficulty of guiding legislation through the various special interests in our nation’s capital.
October 2017 – Michelle Sherman and Wayne Taylor successfully obtained the dismissal of a bad faith claim in a lawsuit against Covington Specialty Insurance Company in the State Court of Gwinnett County. The case involved a claim for insurance proceeds for the destruction of light fixtures in a building following a lightning strike. Covington declined coverage because the lighting fixtures did not constitute business personal property, which was the only coverage purchased by the insured. The Court granted Covington’s motion for summary judgment on the insured’s bad faith claim, finding that Covington possessed reasonable grounds for contesting coverage.
October 2017 – Wayne Taylor, Michelle Sherman and Anne Landrum, as well as attorneys representing other insurers, obtained a dismissal of all claims asserted against Landmark American Insurance Company in the Superior Court of DeKalb County. The case involved a claim by the insured that a group insurance program, of which Landmark was one of many excess insurers, was illegal. The insured had been paid the full amount of its claim by the primary insurer and first two excess layer insurers, but demanded additional damages as a result of alleged delay and underevaluation of the amount of loss during the investigation of the claim. In ruling in favor of Landmark and the other insurers, the Court found that Georgia’s bad faith statute, O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6, is the exclusive remedy for extra-contractual damages arising from allegedly deficient claims adjusting. The Court also found that, even if the group insurance program was illegal, there is no private cause of action for a violation of Georgia’s Insurance Code. Instead, any alleged violations of the Insurance Code come within the exclusive jurisdiction of Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner. Consequently, the Court dismissed all of the insured’s claims against Landmark and the other insurers based upon the claim that the group insurance program was illegal.
September 2017 – Wayne Taylor once again served as a guest professor for the insurance law class at Georgia State University’s School of Law, lecturing on insurable interest under a first-party property insurance policy.
If a ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals stands, a homeowner who claims her television exploded and caused a fire that killed her husband and son will never get a chance to take her case to a jury.
Writing for a panel of three, Judge M. Yvette Miller came down on the side of LG Electronics against Debbie Cash. Miller upheld Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Pamela South, who dismissed Cash’s causation expert on a Daubert challenge, then granted summary judgment in favor of LG.
The parents tried without success to extinguish the fire. The mother escaped the house, thinking her husband and son were already out. Then she climbed in a window to pull her daughter out.
“Once Cash realized her husband and son were trapped in the house, the fire was too extensive for her to rescue them,” Miller said. The husband died in the house. The son died afterward in a hospital.
“Cash and her surviving daughter filed suit against LG Electronics, Inc. alleging, among other claims, strict liability and negligence,” Miller wrote. “Cash claims that the LG television in her living room was the cause of the fire, and in support she submitted the expert testimony of an engineer who attempted to recreate the origin of the fire.
The excluded expert posed a hypothesis targeting the television’s power supply board as the trigger to a chain reaction causing the fire. But Miller found “simply too great an analytical gap between the data and the opinion proffered.” She said the expert could not back up his findings without manipulating the reactions of the equipment in his tests.
Cash’s attorneys could not be reached to ask whether they plan to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. Her team includes Jason Webster of Webster Law Firm in Houston, which is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, and David Sleppy of Cathey & Strain in Cornelia, in northeast Georgia in Habersham County, which was without power, phone and internet from Hurricane Irma. Calls to both firms were unanswered Tuesday.
Edward Bresee of Mozley Finlayson & Loggins in Atlanta was part of the LG defense team. Bresee said Monday he could not discuss the opinion without his client’s approval.
The case is Cash v. LG Electronics, No. A17A0878.
August 2017 – Wayne Taylor once again has been selected for inclusion in the 2018 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Litigation. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review.
August 2017 – Wayne Taylor was re-appointed to the American Jewish Committee’s Regional Board Development Committee. The Development Committee buttresses the American Jewish Committee’s fundraising efforts, including developing strategies to grow the American Jewish Committee’s base of support. Wayne also is a Vice President on the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Regional Executive Board.
August 2017 – Wayne Taylor and Anne Landrum obtained summary judgment on behalf of Acuity, a Mutual Insurance Company in a case of serious injury to three claimants involved in a multi-vehicle accident. Acuity had been served with the complaint and cross-claim as a purported uninsured/underinsured motorist carrier in a lawsuit pending in Gwinnett County State Court. The injured claimants were driving their personal vehicles at the time of the accident. The Court found that the vehicles were not covered vehicles under the Acuity policy of commercial automobile insurance issued to a Wisconsin company owned by one of the claimants, and therefore, the Acuity policy did not provide any uninsured motorist coverage to the claimants.
June 2017 — Wayne Taylor, William Harrison, and Michelle Sherman obtained a judgment in the amount of $128,664.13, plus costs, for Mercury Insurance Company of Georgia in a lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The judgment follows the Court’s prior ruling finding that Mercury was entitled to summary judgment regarding liability. The Court previously held that, as a matter of law, the insured’s guilty plea to the criminal offense of insurance fraud conclusively established her involvement in intentionally setting the fire that damaged her home.
Managing partner Mickey Bresee and senior associate Arthur Park successfully argued a Motion to Open Default in a suit alleging a hazardous condition at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport which led to permanent injuries. Following oral argument, the contested motion was ultimately granted by Judge Carbo of the State Court of Clayton County.
May 2017 Senior Partner J. Arthur Mozley has been elected to the Aviation Insurance Association Eagle Society.
May 2017 Wayne Taylor once again served as a member of the faculty of the Emory University School of Law Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques. The Program for Trial Techniques instructs second year law students using the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s learning-by-doing method. The curriculum covers various facets of a trial, including theory and techniques for handling opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, closing arguments and evidentiary hearings.
May 2017 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, instructed a day-long training workshop on the procedures and pitfalls of the appraisal process under a first-party insurance policy to the Appraisal Practice Group of Engle Martin & Associates, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.
May 2017 Senior Associate Arthur J. Park recently obtained a defense verdict in a bench trial in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The defendant, an international airline, was accused of failing to provide a full refund to a passenger traveling from Guatemala to Atlanta. The court held that the airline had complied with all terms and conditions of the Contract of Carriage related to delays and connecting flights and that the passenger was not entitled to any compensation.
April 2017 Wayne Taylor was re-appointed chairperson of the membership committee of the American College of Coverage and Extra-contractual Counsel (“ACCEC”). The membership committee is charged with performing a careful investigation into the qualifications of each nominee for membership into the ACCEC in order ensure that the candidate satisfies the criteria for membership.
April 2017 Wayne Taylor was elected as a Vice President of the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Regional Board. The American Jewish Committee is a global advocate for the well-being of the Jewish people and the advancement of democratic values. The American Jewish Committee is dedicated to building bridges of understanding between the Jewish Community and other ethnic and faith communities, as well as the diplomatic corps representing numerous international governments.
April 2017 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman successfully obtained a dismissal without leave to amend in a lawsuit against Covington Specialty Insurance Company in Los Angeles, California Superior Court. That case involved a claim for insurance proceeds for a loss after the policy had been cancelled by the company that financed the payment of the insured’s premium. The insured suffered a loss one week after the policy had been cancelled at the request of the premium finance company, and the insured then paid its premium and requested reinstatement of the policy. The request for reinstatement of the policy was denied, and Covington subsequently denied the claim on the ground that the loss occurred after the effective date of the policy’s cancellation. The Court granted Covington’s motion to dismiss the insured’s complaint for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, finding that Covington was required by California law to cancel the policy once it received the cancellation notice from the premium finance company and did not have any legal obligation to reinstate the policy upon the insured’s request.
April 2017 Several members of MF&L assisted the Rotary Club of Dunwoody and served lunch to 150 soldiers and their families at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday, April 7, 2017. Firm members who volunteered at this service project included Larry Domenico, Daphne Bruer, and Judy Steward.
March 2017 Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins, LLP would like to congratulate our 2017 Georgia Super Lawyers. J. Arthur Mozley, William D. Harrison, C. David Hailey, Wayne D. Taylor, Edward C. Bresee, Jr. and John L. McKinley, Jr.
March 2017 Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins, LLP would like to congratulate our 2017 Georgia Rising Stars. Allison M. Escott, Andrew M. Capobianco, Michelle A. Sherman and Janine D. Willis.
March 2017 Wayne D. Taylor and Anne M. Landrum successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of The American Insurance Company (“AIC”) in a lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The case involved Georgia underinsured motorist (“UIM”) benefits for the injuries and death of an employee of AIC’s insured who was driving a farm tractor on a public road when he was struck and killed by another motorist. The decedent’s widow claimed that a farm and ranch basic policy of insurance issued by AIC to the owner of the tractor, which provided coverage for property damage to the tractor and liability coverage for the operator of the tractor on the insured premises, was required by Georgia law to offer UIM coverage to the insured for injuries he sustained while operating the tractor on a public road. The court disagreed and held that the AIC policy was not a policy of automobile liability or motor vehicle liability insurance governed by Georgia’s UIM statute, notwithstanding that the AIC policy provided some liability coverage for the tractor, and therefore AIC was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.
March 2017 Wayne Taylor, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, co-presented a class titled “Property Case Law Developments 2017” at the Property and Liability Research Bureau’s 2017 Claims Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
March 2017 Wayne Taylor has been reappointed chairman of the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Education and Review Committee for the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Umpire and Appraiser Education Review Committee is charged with proposing revisions to the application/renewal process for the WIND umpire and appraiser certification programs, and also oversees and addresses complaints lodged against its umpires. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
March 2017 Chris Hoitink served as the instructor for a License Law continuing education class offered to real estate agents and brokers at Crye-Leike Realty’s Norcross office.
March 2017 Chris Hoitink served as the instructor for a License Law continuing education class offered real estate agents and brokers at the Dekalb Association of Realtors.
February 2017 Wayne Taylor has been elected to another term on the Board of Directors of the Windstorm Insurance Network.
February 2017 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the WIND Umpire Certification Course and the Umpire Re-Certification Course at the 2017 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 18th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida.
February 2017 Wayne Taylor served as a guest professor for the insurance law class at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, lecturing on insurable value under a first-party property insurance policy.
January 2017 Wayne Taylor has been appointed chairman for the 2018 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 19th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
January 2017 Wayne Taylor was appointed to the American Jewish Committee’s Regional Board Development Committee. The development committee buttresses the American Jewish Committee’s fundraising efforts, including developing strategies to grow the American Jewish Committee’s base of support. Wayne is also a member if the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Regional Board of Trustees.
January 2017 Wayne D. Taylor, Williams D. Harrison and Michelle A. Sherman successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of Mercury Insurance Company of Georgia in a lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The case involved a fire loss under which Mercury asserted that the policyholder was responsible for setting fire to her home. After filing suit against Mercury, the insured pled guilty to criminal charges of insurance fraud in connection with the cause of the fire under Georgia’s first offender statute and North Carolina v. Alford. Mercury then sought summary judgment against the insured, asserting that the guilty plea under the first offender statute and Alford conclusively established the fact of the insured’s involvement in the fire and that the insured’s sworn testimony in an examination under oath and deposition denying any involvement in causing the fire was irrelevant absent a defect in the guilty plea itself. The Court granted Mercury’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the insured’s guilty plea conclusively established her involvement in causing the fire, and therefore, Mercury was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
December 2016 MF&L was listed as the #8 fastest growing law firm by Attorneys and by Revenue in the December 23, 2016 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
December 2016 John McKinley and Bridgette Eckerson obtained summary judgment in federal court in a trip and fall case in which plaintiff was claiming serious injuries sustained in a fall at her home, resulting in multiple surgeries and an extended hospitalization at a long-term care facility. She has alleged that a service provider left an exposed, unburied cable on the property.
December 2016 John McKinley and Sharon Horne obtained dismissal of a case against a utility company in which plaintiff was claiming a traumatic brain injury and injuries to his knee and spine from a vehicle accident involving one of the utility’s allegedly low hanging service lines.
December 2016 Wayne Taylor has been appointed to the American Jewish Committee Atlanta at 75: Bylaws Task Force. The Bylaws Task Force as established to restructure the American Jewish Committee Atlanta regions’s local leadership and bylaws. Wayne also is a member of The American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Regional Board of Trustees.
December 2016 MF&L partner, Larry Domenico, led The Rotary Club of Dunwoody in its semi-annual volunteer day at the USO at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on December 29, 2016. The volunteers provided lunch and snacks to approximately 75 military personnel and their families. The highlight of the day was the opportunity the volunteers had to thank our military men, women and their families for their service to our country.
November 2016 Wayne Taylor, along with attorneys from Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida, co-presented a webinar to claims personnel and clients of General Reinsurance Corporation entitled Hurricane Matthew: Stemming the Tide. Wayne lectured on an insured’s right to recover diminution in value for damage to a building and whether labor is depreciated when calculating the actual cash value of a loss.
November 2016 Billy Harrison spoke on business litigation, mediation, and arbitration and participated in a panel for the attorneys in the Roswell Attorneys Project (Roswell, GA) on November 17, 2016.
September 2016 Wayne Taylor once again served as a guest professor for the insurance law class at Georgia State University’s School of Law, lecturing on insurable interest under a first-party property insurance policy.
August 2016 Wayne Taylor was appointed co-chairman of the 2016 Southeast Diplomatic Marathon, The American Jewish Committee’s premier diplomatic outreach initiative. The American Jewish Committee is the global advocate for the well-being of the Jewish people and the advancement of democratic values. The American Jewish Committee is dedicated to building bridges of understanding between the Jewish community and other ethnic communities, as well as the diplomatic corps representing numerous international companies. Wayne also is a member of the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Regional Board of Trustees.
August 2016 Wayne Taylor has been selected for inclusion in the 2017 Edition of Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Litigation. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review.
August 2016 Senior Partner Bob Finlayson was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Honorary Commanders Association. The Honorary Commanders is a cooperative effort of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce, Dobbins Air Reserve Base (ARB), General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center, and the Navy and Marine Corps. The Honorary Commanders Association annually selects community and business leaders, pairs them with military commanders in a yearlong program, and creates interaction between the civilian and military community in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Bob, an Army veteran, was in the 2014 Class, and he now serves on the Advisory Board. The Alumni of the Association continue to participate in many ways, including interesting trips and tours of military installations throughout the United States. Bob just returned from a two day visit to Naval Air Station Pensacola, (Florida), the cradle of naval aviation and the home of the National Naval Aviation Museum. In December 2016 he will lead a group to the Army-Navy football game in Baltimore, MD and a tour of the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His past visits include the Pentagon, the submarine base at St. Marys, Georgia, the naval base and air station at Jacksonville, FL, the Marine Corps Depot at Parris Island, SC, and the U.S. Air Force Base at Charleston, SC.
July 2016 James G. Coyle was elected to the Board of Trustees for the 2016-2017 year for the Chattahoochee Nature Center. The Chattahoochee Nature Center, located in Roswell, Georgia, was developed to connect people with nature. Their goal is to provide a local place for children, adults, and families to experience outdoor activities that strengthen the environmental stewardship efforts in the community and to bring understanding to the ecology of the natural world.
July 2016 Attorney and partner Deborah Shelles Cameron and her family, as well as Real Estate Paralegal Nicole Waitzman ran in the Peachtree Road Race this year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Peachtree Road Race is a city-wide tradition in Atlanta, Georgia, hosting the world’s largest 10-kilometer run each year on July 4, Independence Day. This race averages of 60,000 to 70,000 runners each year.
July 2016 William C. “Bill” Hoitink serves as President-elect of the Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club for the 2016-2017 year. Kiwanis is a global volunteer organization dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time.
July 2016 Wayne D. Taylor, Anne M. Landrum, and Michelle A. Sherman successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of Chubb Custom Insurance Company in a lawsuit pending in the Bessemer Division of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama. This case involved two claims by an insured for damages to its motel –one for a March 2014 fire loss and another for an April 2014 loss for wind damage to the rooftops of its buildings. Chubb paid the insured for the agreed amount of the damages as a result of both losses. The insured then retained the services of a public adjuster, who presented an estimate more than a year after the fire that alleged Chubb owed more than four times what it already had paid, and also demanded appraisal. At around the same time, the insured, with the assistance of its public adjuster, presented an entirely new claim for wind and water damages. The insured did not provide notice to Chubb of the wind claim until nearly a year after the alleged loss occurred. Chubb’s efforts to investigate the insured’s new damages were impeded because the insured failed to submit to examinations under oath, submit proofs of loss or produce requested documents. Rather than comply with these policy conditions, and despite numerous requests by Chubb, the insured filed a lawsuit against Chubb for breach of the insurance contract, bad faith, and specific performance to compel appraisal. Chubb filed a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that, before filing its lawsuit, the insured did not submit sworn proofs of loss for the increased damages, did not provide all of the documents and information requested by Chubb regarding the losses and did not submit to an examination under oath, all of which were conditions precedent to recovery. Chubb also moved for summary judgment on the basis that the insured delayed eleven months before giving Chubb notice of the wind loss. The court granted Chubb’s motion for summary judgment on all grounds, finding that Chubb was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and denied the insured’s motion for specific performance to compel appraisal.
July 2016 Senior associate Arthur J. Park was published in the State Bar of Georgia’s Aviation Law Section Newsletter. His article, Aviation 101: Protecting Navigable Airspace, discussed the federal regulations, grant assurances, and easements that are in place to protect navigable airspace around airports.
July 2016 A case brought by Larry Domenico and Richard Bruno of MF&L was recently featured on the cover of the New York Times. The case is Galack v. Prisoner Transport Company of America. Our firm brought suit on behalf of the family of Steven Galack who died while being transported by a private prisoner transport company. The article highlighted problems with private prisoner transport companies and featured the case of Steven Galack who was beaten and died while being transported from Florida to Ohio in a twelve-person van.
July 2016 Legal assistant Margaret A. (Peggy) Breuer was elected as President of the Northwest Perimeter Toastmasters Club for the July 2016-2017 year.
June 2016 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman successfully obtained a dismissal of a lawsuit against Covington Specialty Insurance Company in the Los Angeles, California Superior Court. This case involved a claim for insurance proceeds by an insured who financed the premium for the policy. After the insured had defaulted on its monthly premium payment, the premium finance company sent a written notice requesting cancellation of the policy to the insured and Covington. Covington then cancelled the insurance policy as it was obligated to do under California law. The insured suffered a loss seven days after the policy was cancelled. Covington denied the insured’s claim on the grounds that the reported loss occurred after the cancellation of the policy. The Court granted Covington’s motion to dismiss the insured’s amended complaint for breach of contract and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, finding that Covington was required by California statute to cancel the policy once it received the cancellation notice from the premium finance company. Because Covington acted in accordance with its obligations under California law, the Court held that the insured could not maintain causes of action for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against Covington.
June 2016 Larry Domenico and Deborah Shelles Cameron are active members of the Rotary Club of Dunwoody. With just under 100 members, The Rotary Club of Dunwoody is an award winning Rotary Club. Larry Domenico was recently elected Treasurer of this Club.
June 2016 Richard Bruno authored an article discussing the Auto Liability Case Law Update, which was published in the latest GDLA Newsletter.
May 2016 Wayne Taylor received the Thomas F. Segalla Service Award at the 2016 annual meeting of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel. The award is presented in recognition of a Fellow’s dedication and service to the College. The ACCEC exists to improve the quality of the practice of insurance law through a focus on the creative, ethical and efficient adjudication of disputes between policyholders and insurers over insurance coverage and extracontractual damages.
May 2016 Wayne Taylor served as a member of the faculty of the Emory University School of Law Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques. The Program for Trial Techniques instructs second year law students using the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s learning-by-doing method. The curriculum covers various facets of a trial, including theory and techniques for handling opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, closing arguments and evidentiary hearings.
May 2016 Wayne Taylor was elected to the Board of Regents of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel. The ACCEC is an organization of coverage attorneys that was formed to improve the quality of the practice of insurance law. The ACCEC focuses on the creative, ethical and efficient adjudication of disputes between policyholders and insurers over insurance coverage and extracontractual damages, a form of punitive damages awarded against an insurer, and claims alleging bad faith. The ACCEC’s mission includes educating various sectors in insurance coverage disputes, including the judiciary, legal and insurance professionals, and businesses on critical topics such as best practices in policy formation and claims handling, and bad faith.
April 2016 Senior Associate Arthur J. Park presented a CLE lecture entitled “Daubert Challenges in Air Crash Litigation.” His presentation was part of the State Bar of Georgia Aviation Law Section’s full day of CLE programs in downtown Atlanta. Mr. Park covered the history of Daubert, the current expert standards in Georgia state courts, and multiple examples of successful challenges to the admissibility of expert testimony.
April 2016 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, instructed a day-long workshop on the appraisal process under a first-party insurance policy to the Appraisal Practice Group of Engle Martin & Associates, Inc. in Dallas, Texas.
April 2016 Wayne Taylor, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, co-presented a class titled “Property Case Law Developments 2016” at the Property and Liability Research Bureau’s 2016 Claims Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
March 2016 David Hailey was a featured speaker at the 2015 Fidelity Law Association Annual Conference in Washington, DC, and authored and presented on commercially reasonable security procedures.
March 2016 Wayne Taylor, along with another lawyer from Atlanta, Georgia, co-presented “First Party Property Insurance Issues” at The Seminar Group’s recent Insurance Law Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia.
March 2016 Billy Harrison was reappointed as Chancellor of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, International, and was elected President of the U.S. Southeastern Province of the Brotherhood for a three-year term at the national convention in June of 2015.
March 2016 Wayne Taylor has been appointed chairman of the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Education and Review Committee for the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Umpire and Appraiser Education Review Committee is charged with proposing revisions to the application/renewal process for the WIND Umpire and Appraiser Certification programs, and also oversees and addresses complaints lodged against its umpires. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
February 2016 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the WIND Umpire Certification Course and the Umpire Re-Certification Course at the 2016 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 16th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida.
February 2016 Wayne Taylor served as a guest professor for the insurance law class at Georgia State University’s School of Law, speaking on insurable interest under a first-party property insurance policy.
February 2016 Super Lawyers magazine has named Andrew M. Capobianco, Michelle A. Sherman, and Janine D. Willis as Rising Stars, marking them as top Georgia lawyers under age 40. No more than 2.5% of Georgia lawyers can be named as a Rising Star.
February 2016 J. Arthur Mozley, Robert M. Finlayson II, William D. Harrison, C. David Hailey, Wayne D. Taylor, Edward C. Bresee, Jr., and John L. McKinley, Jr., were selected for inclusion in 2016 Georgia Super Lawyers.
February 2016 Wayne Taylor has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the Windstorm Insurance Network. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
February 2016 Larry Domenico spoke on the issue of how to avoid legal disputes at the February meeting of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers in Atlanta, Georgia. GABB is the state’s only professional association dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises.
January 2016 Wayne Taylor, along with an attorney from Tampa, Florida, co-presented a class on recent developments in first-party property insurance law at the annual RSUI Group 2016 Property Claims Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia.
December 2015 Janine Willis was elected to the Board of Directors for “Soccer in the Streets”, a non-profit that works with at-risk and impoverished youth to expose them to positive role models and the many benefits that the sport has to offer. Visit the website at http://www.soccerstreets.org.
December 2015 Wayne Taylor recently attended the Leadership Summit of the American Jewish Committee in New York City. Mr. Taylor is a member of the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Regional Board of Trustees. The American Jewish Committee is the global advocate for the well-being of the Jewish people and the advancement of democratic values. The American Jewish Committee is dedicated to building bridges of understanding between the Jewish community and other ethnic and faith communities, as well as the diplomatic core representing numerous international governments.
December 2015 Wayne Taylor, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, presented a workshop on the trials, tribulations and pitfalls of the appraisal process under a first-party property insurance policy to property claims personnel at Arch Insurance Group in Jersey City, New Jersey.
August 2015 Janine Willis was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of their “People on the Move.” The article featured Ms. Willis’ comments on how overtime and off-the-clock work by employees can put employers at risk.
August 2015 Edward C. (“Mickey”) Bresee was elected President of the NW Perimeter Toastmasters Club. Toastmasters is an international organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.
August 2015 Wayne Taylor has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 Edition of Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Litigation. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review.
August 2015 Managing Partner Larry Domenico hosted the August GABB (Georgia Association of Business Brokers) meeting, which featured Andy Cagnetta, founder and CEO of Transworld Business Advisors, LLC, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
July 2015 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman successfully obtained an order in the State Court of Bibb County, Georgia granting summary judgment to Catlin Specialty Insurance Company. Catlin’s insured sought insurance liability coverage for an underlying tort claim against it arising out of severe injuries sustained by a boy after he was bitten by a dog owned by one the insured’s tenants, while on the insured’s rental property. The commercial general liability insurance policy issued by Catlin to its insured contained an animal liability exclusion, which expressly excluded coverage for liability claims arising from animal bites and attacks. Catlin filed a motion for summary judgment on the ground that, under the plain and unambiguous animal liability exclusion, which the insured had a duty to read, there was no coverage under the policy for the claims asserted by the underlying plaintiffs. The insured testified at deposition that he did not review the quote, binder, or policy, but later claimed in an affidavit that he reviewed the policy, but did not notice the animal liability exclusion. The Court granted Catlin’s motion for summary judgment, holding as a matter of law that there was no coverage under the policy for the dog bite injury. Noting that the quote, binder, and policy issued to the insured each referenced or contained the animal liability exclusion and the insured accepted coverage with that exclusion. The Court held that the insured was under a duty to read and examine the policy, and if it sought coverage for bodily injuries arising out of animal bites, it could have renegotiated with Catlin or sought coverage with another insurer. Therefor, the Court found that there was no coverage under the Catlin policy for the claimed injuries.
July 2015 Wayne Taylor and Deb Cameron obtained an order in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granting summary judgment in favor of Landmark American Insurance Company. Landmark’s insured sought coverage for damages to various structures located on a campground in the Pocono Mountains it claimed were caused by Superstorm Sandy under a commercial insurance policy. Landmark denied coverage for the loss, claiming that the damages were the result of wear, tear and deterioration, which are excluded causes of loss. After ruling that the insured’s expert on causation was prohibited from giving expert testimony because his methodology was unreliable, the court found that the only evidence remaining in the record established that the damages resulted from wear and tear, which are excluded clauses for loss under the insurance policy. Finding that the damages to the buildings on the campground resulted from the excluded causes of wear, tear and deterioration, the court ruled there was no coverage under the policy for the claimed damages.
June 2015 Anne M. Landrum obtained an order in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granting summary judgment in favor of defendant GoJet Airlines, LLC in a case of premises liability/trip-and-fall on an airport jetbridge. Plaintiff tripped and fell on the jetbridge after disembarking from a Delta Connection flight operated by GoJet. Plaintiff alleged the floor of the jetbridge, which was owned and maintained by Delta Air Lines, Inc., contained a hazardous condition which caused her to trip and fall. The court held that because GoJet did not own or occupy the jetbridge, it owed no duty to plaintiff with respect to conditions on the jetbridge. For this reason, the plaintiff’s premises liability claim against GoJet failed as a matter of law.
June 2015 Wayne Taylor, along with attorneys from law firms in Orlando, Florida, Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas and Buffalo, New York, co-instructed a course in London, England provided to property claims personnel from various syndicates of Lloyd’s, London, entitled “The Catastrophe Toolbox 2015,” which dealt with first-party insurance coverage issues and claims pitfalls that can arise from catastrophic losses.
May 2015 Wayne Taylor served as a member of the faculty of the Emory University School of Law Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques. The Program for Trial Techniques instructs second year law students using the National Institute of Trail Advocacy’s learning-by-doing method. The students learn the various facets of a trial, including theory and techniques for handling opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, and closing arguments.
May 2015 Wayne Taylor was elected to the Atlanta Regional Board of Trustees for the American Jewish Committee. The American Jewish Committee is the global advocate for the well-being of the Jewish people and the advancement of democratic values. The American Jewish Committee is dedicated to building bridges of understanding between the Jewish Community and other ethnic and faith communities, as well as the diplomatic corps representing numerous international governments.
May 2015 Wayne Taylor has been appointed co-chairperson of the membership committee for the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (“ACCEC”). The membership committee is charged with performing a careful investigation into the qualifications of each nominee for membership into the ACCEC in order to ensure that the candidate satisfies the criteria for membership.
May 2015 Wayne Taylor, along with another lawyer from Atlanta, Georgia, co-presented “Point/Counter Point-Update on Appraisal and Insurable Interest Principles of Property Insurance Procedures for the Public Adjuster” at the Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters’ Spring Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
May 2015 Wayne Taylor chaired this year’s American College of Coverage and Extra Contractual Counsel annual conference that took place in Chicago, Illinois. The ACCEC is an organization of insurance coverage attorneys that was formed to improve the quality of the practice of insurance law. The ACCEC focuses on the creative, ethical and efficient adjudication of disputed between policy holders and insurers over insurance coverage and extra contractual damages, a form of punitive damages awarded against an insurer, and claims alleging bad faith. The ACCEC’s mission includes educating sectors involved in insurance coverage disputed, including the judiciary, legal and insurance professionals, and businesses on critical topics such as best practices and policy formation and claims handling, developing trends in insurance law, and bad faith.
April 2015 Several members of MF&L joined with the Rotary Club of Dunwoody to serve lunch to service members passing through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Larry Domenico, MF&L’s managing partner, is a Dunwoody Rotarian and organized the volunteer project in conjunction with the USO. Staff members Tricia Green and Tara Bragg also participated. It is always a very gratifying experience to give back to the service members who give so much to our country.
April 2015 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman obtained an order in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granting summary judgment in favor of Landmark American Insurance Company. In a case in which the insured sought coverage for damage to an apartment building he claims he owned, the Court held that Landmark’s commercial property insurance policy did not provide coverage for the fire loss because the insured did not possess an insurable interest in the property at the time of the fire, as a mortgage holder had foreclosed on the property six weeks before the fire. The Court ruled that the insured possessed neither a legal nor an equitable interest in the property at the time of the fire by virtue of the foreclosure. The Court found that the insured did not possess an insurable interest despite the insured’s claim that he was renovating the building and collecting rents even after the foreclosure on the property by the mortgage holder. The Court held that the mortgage holder’s foreclosure on the property before the fire extinguished any legal or equitable interest claimed by the insured and, therefore, the insured did not possess an insurable interest in the property when the fire occurred.
April 2015 Arthur J. Park’s most recent CLE presentation, The Montreal Convention: Rules and Regulations that Govern and Affect Most International Flights, is now available through the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education. This online CLE course discusses (a) when the Montreal Convention applies; (b) whether the Montreal Convention preempts state law claims; (c) who has standing; (d) the types of claims that are available, including bodily injury claims under Article 17, baggage claims under Article 17, cargo claims under Article 18, and delay claims under Article 19; and (e) whether the Montreal Convention can preempt a discrimination claim.
March 2015 John McKinley was honored to speak to University of Georgia students who are members of the University Judiciary about his experience as a member of that organization.
February 2015 Wayne Taylor served as a guest professor for the Insurance Law class at the Georgia State University College of Law, lecturing on insurable interest under a property insurance policy.
February 2015 Super Lawyers magazine has named Allison M. Escott, Andrew M. Capobianco, and Bridgette E. Eckerson as Rising Stars, marking them as top Georgia lawyers under age 40. No more than 2.5% of Georgia lawyers can be named as a Rising Star.
February 2015 J. Arthur Mozley, Robert M. Finlayson II, William D. Harrison, Wayne D. Taylor, and John L. McKinley, Jr., were selected for inclusion in 2015 Georgia Super Lawyers.
January 2015 MF&L was recognized in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Book of Lists as one of the top 50 law firms in Atlanta, Georgia.
January 2015 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the WIND Advanced Umpire Re-Certification and Umpire Certification Courses at the 2015 Windstorm Insurance Network 16th Annual WIND Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
December 2014 Wayne Taylor, along with an attorney from Orlando, Florida, co-instructed a course on the handling of first-party property insurance coverage issues and claims pitfalls that can arise from catastrophic losses to the multinational and complex property claims unit at ACE North American Claims in Wilmington, Delaware.
November 2014 Wayne Taylor presented a workshop on the appraisal process under a first-party property insurance policy to property claims personnel at ACE North American Claims in Alpharetta, Georgia.
November 2014 Wayne Taylor presented a workshop on appraisal under a first-party property insurance policy to property claims personnel at RSUI Annual Property Insurance Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia.
November 2014 Wayne Taylor has been selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA) which recognizes the country’s top trial attorneys and litigators. The LCA is an invitation-only honorary society dedicated to promoting superior advocacy, professionalism and ethical standards among trial and litigation lawyers. Composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers, LCA Fellows are selected based on their legal excellence and accomplishments in litigation and superior ethical reputations.
October 2014 Wayne Taylor was a co-presenter for “The Perils, Pitfalls & Potential Successes of the Insurance Appraisal Process” at the Property and Liability Resource Bureau’s Large Loss Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.
October 2014 Brian Duva and Aaron Miller won summary judgment for a general contractor in Cherokee County, Georgia who had hired several subcontractors to renovate the exterior of a commercial structure. Plaintiff alleged that a piece of roofing material became dislodged, fell from the roof, and injured an employee of the business during the course of the construction. The trial court ruled that there was no evidence that the firm’s client had any control, oversight, or possession of the premises in question at the time of the incident and awarded summary judgment to the general contractor.
September 2014 Arthur Park co-instructed a CE/CLE course provided to aviation claims personnel from various insurance companies entitled Indemnity 101: Tips from Lessons Learned, which dealt with types of indemnity agreements, the legal principles involved, additional insured status, and practical tips for indemnity claims.
September 2014 Wayne Taylor served as a guest professor for the insurance law class at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, speaking on insurable interest under a first-party property insurance policy.
August 2014 Arthur J. Park served as a group leader at the University of Georgia School of Law’s Orientation on Professionalism for incoming first-year law students. The session was sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia Committee on Professionalism and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism. Mr. Park received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and greatly enjoyed his return visit to Athens.
August 2014 Senior partner J. Arthur Mozley and senior associate Arthur J. Park successfully obtained a dismissal on sovereign immunity grounds for a local Airport Authority. The civil suit involved the tragic death of a thirteen-year old boy who fell through the roof of an airport hangar. The State Court ruled that the Airport Authority’s enabling act provided immunity and that the Authority was entitled to receive ante litem notice under the Georgia Torts Claims Act.
June 2014 Wayne Taylor, along with lawyers from law firms in Orlando, Florida, Buffalo, New York and Mobile, Alabama, co-instructed a course provided to property claims personnel from various insurance companies at the University of Chicago entitled “The Catastrophe Toolbox 2014,” which dealt with first-party property insurance coverage issues and claims pitfalls that can arise from catastrophic losses.
June 2014 Arthur J. Park’s article entitled “Aviation 101: The Montreal Convention” was published in the State Bar of Georgia’s Aviation Law Section Summer 2014 Newsletter.
May 2014 Wayne Taylor served as a member of the faculty of the Emory University School of Law Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program. The trial techniques program instructs second year law students using the National Institute of Trial Advocacy’s learning-by-doing method. The students learn the various facets of a trial, including theory and techniques for handling opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, and closing arguments.
May 2014 Arthur J. Park was a panel speaker at the American Conference Institute Aviation Claims & Litigation Conference in Chicago, Illinois. His topic was “The Latest Developments and Trends in Liability Apportionment and Contractual Indemnity Issues.” The panel addressed issues related to the proper interpretation of indemnity agreements in various aviation contracts as well as liability disclaimers and how states are dealing with apportionment of fault.
April 2014 Wayne Taylor was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Windstorm Insurance Network’s newsletter. Mr. Taylor was appointed to serve as a member of the Windstorm Insurance Network’s long-range planning committee. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claim industry.
April 2014 Wayne Taylor has been appointed chairperson of the Annual Conference Committee for the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (“ACCEC”). Mr. Taylor also was appointed to service on the ACCEC’s membership committee, which is charged with performing a careful investigation into the qualifications of each nominee to ensure that the candidate satisfies the criteria for membership. The ACCEC is an organization of insurance coverage attorneys that was formed to improve the quality of the practice of insurance law. The ACCEC focuses on the creative, ethical, and efficient adjudication of disputes between policyholders and insurers over insurance coverage and extracontractual damages, a form of punitive damages awarded against an insurer, and claims alleging bad faith. The ACCEC’s mission includes educating sectors involved in insurance coverage disputes, including the judiciary, legal and insurance professionals, and businesses, on critical topics such as best practices in policy formation and claims handling, developing trends in insurance law, and bad faith.
April 2014 Wayne Taylor, along with his wife Nora, volunteered on Easter Sunday at the United Services Organization (“USO”) lounge at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, where he greeted and served lunch to soldiers before they deployed overseas.
March 2014 Wayne Taylor co-instructed a class on “Water Exclusions: Property Coverage” at the Property and Liability Resourcee Bureau’s 2014 Claims Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. The class reviewed key issues that arise in water-related losses, and applied definitions and doctrines utilized by the courts to resolve insurance coverage issues.
March 2014 Wayne Taylor co-instructed a class entitled “The Government and Plaintiffs Come Knocking: Do You Know Where Your D&O Coverage Is?” at the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel’s 2014 Insurance Law Symposium at the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford, Mississippi. The class concerned insurance coverage issues that arise under directors and officers liability policies in the face of governmental investigations and shareholder class actions and derivative lawsuits.
March 2014 Joe Hardy closed an aircraft loan for a Georgia lender, financing the back-to-back purchase of a King Air C90 with Blackhawk conversion by a Georgia business, with a trade-in of a Cessna 414, from New Jersey and South Carolina sellers.
February 2014 Super Lawyers’ Magazine has named Allison Maloney and Bridgette Eckerson as Rising Stars, marking them as top Georgia lawyers under the age of 40. No more than 2.5% of Georgia lawyers can be named a Rising Star.
February 2014 J. Arthur Mozley, Robert M. Finlayson II, William D. Harrison and Wayne D. Taylor have been selected for inclusion in 2014 Georgia Super Lawyers.
February 2014 Aviation attorney Joe Hardy joined Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins LLP as Of Counsel on February 15. Adding to MF&L’s decades-long recognition as one of the leading aviation law firms in the United States, Joe brings a national and international aviation transactional practice focusing on aircraft purchases and sales, aircraft financing and Federal Aviation Regulation compliance. Joe’s experience as a commercial pilot and flight instructor brings even greater depth to the firm’s Aviation Practice. Joe and MF&L found themselves teaming up multiple times over the last few years to better serve all the needs of their aviation clients. With this move we intend to make that combined strength more available and seamless for our clients. Joe also brings a strong background in corporate counseling and lending transactions to further strengthen MF&L’s General Business Practice.
February 2014 MF&L held its annual “Soup Day” for all personnel. The staff prepares crock pots of homemade soup on what we hope to be one of the coldest days of the year. Historically, the days was have selected in February for Soup Day have turned out to be very warm. This year did not disappoint! After two previous occasions of snow and ice, our Soup Day temperature in Atlanta was 70 degrees! We also offer breads, crackers, condiments, and desserts. We have a “Best of” vote by all personnel for best dish. This year’s winner was Real Estate Legal Assistant Sharita Roland, who won a gift card to Kroger, for her now infamous “Louisiana Kitchen Sink Bisque.” A great time was enjoyed by all!!
January 2014 Arthur J. Park was elected to serve as the Editor of the State Bar of Georgia – Aviation Law Section Newsletter.
January 2014 Lawrence B. Domenico has been elected managing partner of Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins LLP. Domenico replaces Robert M. Finlayson II who had served as managing partner for the past three years and will return full-time to his commercial and insurance litigation practice. Domenico graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1988 and has been with the firm since 1990 where his practice includes commercial litigation and general business representation. The firm also announced that Allison E. Maloney has been elected to the partnership. Maloney practices in the firm’s construction and transportation litigation group.
January 2014 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the WIND Umpire Certification Course at the 2014 Windstorm Insurance Network 15th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida.
January 2014 Allison Maloney joined the Phoenix Society past and current debutantes in hosting the patients of the Shepherd Canter and their families for a day of football and fun on November 30, 2013. Many of the patients’ families had traveled long distances to be together for Thanksgiving, and enjoyed the barbeque supper and the Alabama/Auburn game on the big screen. Ms. Maloney is a member of the Phoenix Society, founded in 1964, which is a philanthropic group which has supported the Shepherd Canter and the High Museum of Art.
January 2014 Wayne Taylor has been designated as a WIND Fellow of the Windstorm Insurance Network for demonstrating exceptional professionalism and technical knowledge in the field of windstorm property insurance loss claims. The Windstorm Insurance Network is an educational forum for the windstorm insurance claims industry.
November 2013 Arthur J. Park recently taught a CLE course entitled What to Reasonably Expect in the Coming Years from the Reasonable Expectations of the Insured Doctrine. The one-hour course was sponsored by the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education.
November 2013 Robert M. (Bob) Finlayson II was selected for the 2014 Class of the Honorary Commanders Association. Honorary Commanders is a cooperative effort of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center, U.S. Navy, and Marine Corps. This association annually selects community and business leaders and pairs them with military commanders in a year-long program, giving those leaders the opportunity to learn more about local military activities, their impact on our economy, and various aspects of the national defense system.
October 2013 Wayne Taylor and Arthur Park, along with an attorney from another firm, have co-authored an article published in The American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal. The article, Unique Coverage Issues in Flood Losses, appears in Volume 48, Issue 2 (Winter 2013) and discusses special coverage issues for first party property insurance claims, including the definition of “flood” and “surface water” for purposes of determining the application of the flood exclusion to property losses.
October 2013 Robert M. (Bob) Finlayson II was re-elected to serve a second term on the Board of Directors of the Law Firm Alliance. The Law Firm Alliance is an informal network of prestigious mid-sized law firms located around the globe.
September 2013 Billy Harrison and members of his chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew spent a Saturday in September painting and helping renovate one of the houses of Emmaus House in Peoplestown, an urban area down by Turner Stadium near downtown Atlanta. Emmaus House provides education, opportunity, assistance, and advocacy for the residence of Peoplestown, as a part of the urban ministry of the Episcopal Church of the Atlanta Diocese.
September 2013 Legal Assistant Sue Schultz led a mission trip to Poland and Ireland. In Poland, her group ministered to women and children at a women’s shelter, taught at a local church, spent time an an adult handicapped facility and led a women’s conference. In Ireland, the team presented dramatic skits and spoke at several churches before returning to Atlanta.
August 2013 Wayne Taylor served as a guest lecturer for the insurance law class at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, speaking on insurable interest under a property insurance policy.
August 2013 Legal Assistant Sue Schultz addressed the Christian Authors Guild Catch the Wave Writers Conference as President of CAG at the kick-off dinner in August. The Christian Authors Guild Catch the Wave Writers Conference is held at Simpsonwood in Norcross, Georgia, with informational lectures, appointments with agents and acquisition editors, as well as great networking opportunities.
August 2013 Wayne Taylor, along with lawyers from law firms in Buffalo, New York, Mobile, Alabama and Orlando, Florida, co-instructed a course to property claims personnel from numerous insurers at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, Connecticut entitled “The Catastrophe Toolbox,” which dealt with first-party insurance coverage issues and pitfalls that can arise from catastrophic losses.
August 2013 Wayne Taylor, along with a lawyer from Tampa, Florida, co-instructed a class on the application of the water exclusions contained in a first-party property insurance policy to water damage claims at the annual RSUI Group 2013 Property Claims Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia.
August 2013 Arthur J. Park’s article, Fixing Faults in the Current Default Judgment Framework,34 Campbell L. Rev. 155 (2011), was recently cited in the University of Chicago Law Review, the DePaul Law Review, and an Ohio Court of Appeals brief.
July 2013 John McKinley and Aaron Miller obtained a defense verdict following a jury trial in federal court. The plaintiff had claimed that the defendant, a Fortune 500 company, had violated the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act and had committed fraud and trespass. Plaintiff was also seeking punitive damages. The jury rendered a defense verdict on all counts.
July 2013 Wayne Taylor and Michelle Sherman obtained an order in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina granting summary judgment in favor of Catlin Specialty Insurance Company. In a case in which the claimants sought liability insurance coverage for construction defect claims asserted against a contractor, the Court held that Catlin’s commercial general liability insurance policy did not provide coverage to the contractor for work performed on behalf of a prior business entity that was not insured under the policy. The Court found that the individual contractor was insured for work performed only on behalf of the named insured business, and that no coverage was provided for any activity performed on behalf of a non-insured prior contracting business.
July 2013 Brian Duva and Andrew Capobianco recently won another motion for summary judgment on behalf of a trucking company and a truck driver. This latest victory occurred after more than four years of hotly contested litigation involving a series of car accidents on I-75 in Marietta, Georgia.
Mr. Duva and Mr. Capobianco were able to show the court that there was no evidence that the defendants failed to act with ordinary care, despite the testimony from the plaintiffs’ two motor carrier industry experts who both attempted to blame the truck driver and trucking company for causing the accident. This was a major victory, especially since the plaintiffs were seeking several million dollars in medical expenses alone.
July 2013 John McKinley has been appointed as the Chair of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association’s Trucking Subcommittee.
June 2013 Wayne Taylor served as a guest professor for the insurance law class at the Georgia State University School of Law, lecturing on policy conditions and insurance interest under a property insurance policy.
June 2013 The MFL employment defense team continued their winning ways by receiving a per curiam affirmance in another discrimination/constitutional violation case before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia. Faced with a myriad of claims and amendments, John Lowery and Janine Willis were able to sort through the morass and convince the district and appellate courts that summary judgment was legally required for their clients. The employment defense team is on a roll!
June 2013 Billy Harrison participated in the 6th Annual Ribfest of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta Brotherhood of St. Andrew to raise money to send kids living in urban areas to summer camp. The Ribfest barbeque raised over $6,000 in 2012, and sent 276 kids to the safe and active environment of summer camp, which most would not have experienced in their everyday environments.
May 2013 John Lowery defended an employee discharge matter before the Spalding County Appeals Board in Griffin, Georgia. Using the due process procedures established by the County Personnel Ordinance, the employee challenged her termination in a day long hearing. A unanimous Appeals Board affirmed the decision following abbreviated deliberations.
April 2013 Billy Harrison organized a group of men to participate in the National Service Day of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. The group worked all day at Rainbow Village transplanting bushes, shrubs, and flowers, and boarding up apartments no longer being used by the Village. Rainbow Village is a residential community in Duluth, Georgia, for persons and families who have been the victims of domestic abuse and violence.
April 2013 Arthur J. Park’s most recent article, What to Reasonably Expect in the Coming Years from the Reasonable Expectations of the Insured Doctrine, was published in volume 49 of the Willamette Law Review. The article discusses some major cases that have rejected the “REI” doctrine and how the REI doctrine should be used by the courts going forward as a limitation on the traditional contra preferentum approach.
April 2013 William J. (Jay) Rawls II prepared a summary of Legislative Changes for 2013, as passed by the Georgia General Assembly, in the area of Workers’ Compensation law.
March 2013 The new MF&L employment defense team has hit the ground running with a win on summary judgment in a gender discrimination and retaliation case in federal court in Atlanta. Initially, the United States Magistrate granted summary judgment only on the retaliation claim. Following discussions with the client, John Lowery and Janine Willis decided to appeal the partial victory and U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. agreed with them and reversed the U.S. Magistrate’s denial of summary judgment on the gender discrimination aspect of the case as well. In short, the client prevailed on all claims and the case stands dismissed.
March 2013 J. Arthur Mozley and Arthur J. Park successfully briefed and argued a motion to dismiss in North Carolina state court on behalf of the City of Charlotte and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The wrongful death complaint had been filed by the parents of a sixteen-year old who stowed away in the wheel well of a plane bound for Boston, Massachusetts. The case, which had garnered national news coverage, was dismissed in its entirety.
March 2013 Allison Maloney recently appeared on the new HLN show covering the events of the Jodi Arias criminal trial, HLN: After Dark. Ms. Maloney appeared as a guest “mock juror” to hear legal arguments from various CNN TV personalities including Vinnie Politan, Ryan Smith, Nancy Grace, Jane Velez-Mitchell, and Dr. Drew Pinsky. As a guest juror, Ms. Maloney asked questions of the hosts, deliberated with her fellow mock jurors, and issued a “verdict” on the issue of the day. Ms. Maloney anticipates that she will appear on the show again in the future, and may just find herself a side-gig in show business! HLN: After Dark airs on HLN at 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and will remain on the air through the end of the Jodi Arias criminal trial and sentencing.
March 2013 J. Arthur Mozley and Arthur J. Park obtained summary judgment on behalf of Epps Aviation on a claim of negligent maintenance in a wrongful death case in Tampa, Florida state court arising out of a Pilatus PC-12 crash.
March 2013 Wayne Taylor co-instructed a class on “Water Exclusions: Property Coverage” at the Property Loss Research Bureau 2013 Claims Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. The class concerned key insurance coverage issues that arise in water-related losses and applied definitions and doctrines utilized by the courts to resolve insurance coverage issues.
February 2013 J. Arthur Mozley, Robert M. Finlayson II, and William D. “Billy” Harrison were selected for inclusion in 2012 Georgia Super Lawyers.
February 2013 Deborah Shelles Cameron was selected for inclusion into the 2013 edition of the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers – a publication exclusively for women attorneys who have received the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards from their peers.
February 2013 Paralegal Candice Stevens participated in a mission trip to the Jersey Shore where she and a team of people from Utah, Georgia, North Carolina, California, and Massachusetts served by cooking, cleaning, and rebuilding homes destroyed or severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The homes they worked on were not able to receive aid from FEMA for a number of reasons, and the recipients were grateful for the help that was provided to them. It was a week of very hard work offset by new friends and the joy of being able to assist people in need.
February 2013 Wayne Taylor served as the guest professor for the Insurance Law class at Georgia State University College of Law, lecturing on insurance interest under a first-party property insurance policy.
January 2013 Billy Harrison was on the faculty of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Trial Academy at Callaway Gardens. The Trial Academy presents a mock trial, in which the faculty demonstrates the different parts of a mediation and a trial (Mr. Harrison presented defendant’s mediation statement and negotiations, defendant’s opening statement, and cross-examination of the plaintiff). The attendees are then given opportunities to hone their trial skills in small groups, led by the faculty members.
January 2013 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the Wind Advanced Umpire Re-Certification and Umpire Certification Courses at the 2013 Windstorm Insurance Network 14th Annual Wind Conference in Orlando, Florida.
January 2013 John McKinley served as a guest lecturer to a Litigation course at the Georgia State University College of Law.
January 2013 Billy Harrison obtained a defense verdict for one of our insurance company clients after a 4-day trial of a case involving a homeowner’s claim for fire damage. Our defense showed that the fire was intentionally set by the homeowners, that they had the opportunity to set the fire, and that their financial condition was the motivation for the arson. In an unusual action by the jury, all 12 members signed the verdict form, not just the foreman, which was interpreted as a message to the plaintiff regarding his actions.
January 2013 Legal Assistant Sue Schultz was elected President of the Christian Authors Guild for 2013. The Guild will be writing weekly blog posts, producing a quarterly on-line magazine of our members’ writing, and publishing an anthology this year.
January 2013 Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins LLP welcomed attorneys John R. Lowery and Janine D. Willis to the firm as of January 1, 2013. Formerly of Pursley Lowery Meeks LLP, Mr. Lowery and Ms. Willis will continue to practice in the areas of employment practices defense, product liability defense, professional liability defense and general liability insurance defense work.
December 2012 Wayne Taylor has been inducted as a fellow of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (“ACCEC”). The ACCEC was formed to improve the quality of the practice of insurance law. The ACCEC focuses on the creative, ethical, and efficient adjudication of disputes between policyholders and insurers over insurance coverage and extracontractual damages, a form of punitive damages awarded against an insurer, and claims alleging bad faith. The ACCEC’s mission includes educating all sectors involved in insurance disputes, including the judiciary, legal and insurance professionals, and businesses, on critical topics such as best practices in policy formation and claims handling, developing trends in insurance law, and bad faith.
November 2012 Rosemary Armstrong was elected as incoming Board Chair, after serving several years on the Board of Directors, for The Foundation for Improvement of Justice, Inc. This foundation is a private, not-for-profit organization founded for the purpose of improving local, state and federal systems of justice.
November 2012 Joseph “Jay” Burton spoke at the 2nd Annual “Best of CLE” seminars at the Cobb Galleria, Atlanta, Georgia, on the topic of Business and Consumer Bankruptcy.
October 2012 Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins LLP has been rated a ” 2013 Top Ranked Law Firm” by LexisNexis Martindale Hubbell in Fortune magazine.
September 2012 Associate Arthur J. Park will be published in the 2012-2013 volume of the Willamette Law Review. His article, What to Reasonably Expect in the Coming Years from the Reasonable Expectations of the Insured Doctrine, discusses some major cases that have rejected the “REI” doctrine and how the REI doctrine should be used by the courts going forward as a limitation on the traditional contra preferentum approach. After the editing process, the article should be ready for publication in the spring of 2013.
September 2012 Larry Domenico was recently inducted into the Rotary Club of Dunwoody. He was sponsored for membership by MF&L partner, Deb Cameron, who has been a rotary member for seven years.
September 2012 Wayne Taylor served as the guest professor for the Insurance Law class at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, lecturing on insurable interest and insurable value under a first-party property insurance policy.
August 2012 Wayne Taylor, along with lawyers from law firms in Orlando, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, co-instructed a course on discovery of electronically stored information and potential pitfalls to property claims personnel at the annual RSUI Group 2012 Property Claims Seminar in Atlanta, Georgia.
August 2012 Bridgette Eckerson has been appointed to the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Georgia Bar Journal Editorial Board for the 2012-2013 term. The Georgia Bar Journal is the official publication of the State Bar of Georgia. Editorial content of the bi-monthly magazine is carefully balanced with news, scholarly legal articles, practice management articles, and historical records of significant State Bar events. The Editorial Board monitors, and renders advice to the staff, Executive Committee, and Board of Governors with respect to the scholarship of legal articles in the Georgia Bar Journal. Mrs. Eckerson has served as a member of the Editorial Board since 2002.
August 2012 Wayne Taylor, along with lawyers from Orlando, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, taught a course on first-party property insurance coverage issues that can arise from catastrophic losses to property claims personnel at ACE North American Claims in Atlanta, Georgia and Wilmington, Delaware.
July 2012 Wayne Taylor spoke with interns at Allied World Assurance Company in Atlanta, Georgia regarding the relationship between excess liability insurers and their outside monitoring/coverage counsel.
June 2012, to benefit the summer youth camp program for inner-city kids of Atlanta. The event raised over $7,000 to send kids to a camp environment this summer. Billy is also attending the National Triennial Convention of the Brotherhood in Nashville in June. He is the Chancellor (attorney) for the national organization.
June 2012 Legal Assistant Sue Schultz was privileged to lead a team of ladies from her church to Lubin, Poland. The team worked three days at a women’s shelter in Scinawa, currently home to 15 women and 30 children; provided a workshop with handicapped adults; hosted a women’s retreat at Elim Center. In late June, the team split with two returning to the U.S., one remaining a few more days in Wroclaw, Poland, and Sue and another member traveling on to Ireland to present a similar program for women in Rahara, Ireland.
May 2012 Larry Domenico authored an article for the May newsletter of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Entitled “Top Ten Ways to Protect Your Commissions,” the article provides practical and legal advice for business brokers to avoid litigation if possible, and how best to proceed if the broker must seek judicial assistance to enforce the right to a commission.
May 2012 Billy Harrison was a delegate to the Diocesan Council convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta for the election of a new Bishop. The convention elected the first African-American Bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta in its history, the Rev. Robert B. Wright.
May 2012 Wayne Taylor attended the “Down Home Derby”, the Child Development Association’s (“CDA”) main annual fundraising event. the CDA provides affordable childcare and early learning programs for preschool children of low-income families in metropolitan Atlanta.
May 2012 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the WIND umpire certification course ad the 2012 Windstorm Insurance Network’s 4th Annual Regional WIND Symposium which took place on May 8, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
April 2012 Brian J. Duva and Andrew M. Capobianco won a defense verdict in Fulton County State Court for The City of Atlanta and Officer Balmore Cruz. The 41-year old plaintiff alleged that he was injured in September 2009 while he was walking in the Atlanta Airport when his leg was unexpectedly stuck by the police officer’s motorized patrol vehicle, known as a T-3 Motion. Following surgery, plaintiff was permanently disabled according to the testimony of his treating physician, and restricted from working full time in his occupation as a field hydrologist. At trial, plaintiff asked the jury to award 4 million dollars in compensatory damages. Defendants denied negligence and disputed the plaintiff’s claim that his knee injury was caused by the incident at the airport. The jury rendered a defense verdict for both defendants after ninety (90) minutes of deliberation. The trial lasted four days before Judge John R. Mather. The style of the case is Eric W. Best v. City of Atlanta and Balmore Cruz, Civil Action File No. 10EV009707G.
April 2012 Wayne Taylor volunteered on Easter Sunday at the United Services Organization (“USO”) lounge at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, where he served Easter dinner to soldiers before they deployed to Afghanistan and Kuwait.
April 2012 Wayne Taylor co-instructed a class on “Water Exclusion: Property Coverage” at the Property Loss Research Bureau 2012 Claims Conference in Orlando, Florida.
April 2012 Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins has been rated a “2012 Top Ranked Law Firm” by LexisNexis Martindale Hubbell in Fortune Magazine.
March 2012 Wayne Taylor participated in the 5k Hunger Walk in downtown Atlanta to raise funds for the Atlanta Community Food Bank and other hunger relief programs. The Atlanta Community Food Bank distributes food and other critical resources for low-income Georgians.
February 2012 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the WIND advanced umpire re-certification and umpire certification courses at the 2012 Windstorm Insurance Network 13th Annual WIND Conference in Orlando, Florida.
February 2012 J. Arthur Mozley, Robert M. Finlayson II, and William D. “Billy” Harrison were selected for inclusion in 2011 Georgia Super Lawyers.
February 2012 John McKinley has been appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association’s Trucking Subcommittee.
January 2012 Billy Harrison was on the faculty of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Trial Academy at Callaway Gardens January 18 to 21, 2012. The Trial Academy is held every year for less experienced attorneys and takes them through a mock trial, in which the faculty demonstrates the different parts of a trial (Mr. Harrison presented plaintiff’s voir dire, opening statement, and cross examination of the defendant) and then uses small groups, led by the faculty, to give the students a chance to practice their trial skills. The firm sends at least one associate a year to the Trial Academy, and Aaron Miller attended this year.
January 2012 Billy Harrison and Andrew Capobianco successfully defeated a motion for summary judgment filed by the counsel for the owner of a Mustang Special, who was riding as a passenger in his own vehicle, when the driver of the vehicle was involved in a T-bone collision with two young women, severely injuring one of them. The young women plaintiffs’ claims against the defendant vehicle owner were based on negligence in his allowing the defendant driver to speed in the vehicle, causing the collision, not on negligent entrustment. Defendants’ counsel attempted to move for summary judgment on negligent entrustment, but the court found factual issues related to the duty and breach of duty of the defendant owner to intervene in the actions of his friend, the defendant driver.
January 2012 Edward C. Bresee, Jr., Deborah Shelles Cameron, Lawrence B. Domenico, Robert M. Finlayson II, William D. Harrison, Anne M. Landrum, Jennifer T. McLean, J. Arthur Mozley, William J. Rawls II and Wayne D. Taylor were recognized in the 2012 Edition of Georgia’s Top Rated Lawyers , the definitive guide to legal representation in Georgia.
January 2012 John McKinley and Andrew Capobianco successfully opposed a motion for leave to add claims for punitive damages in federal court. The plaintiffs sought to add claims for punitive damages based on allegations that the truck driver exceeded the hours of service limits at the time of the accident. The Court denied leave to amend because there was no evidence that the accident was caused by driver fatigue resulting from an hours of service violation nor was there any evidence that the truck driver exhibited a pattern or policy of driving while fatigued.
January 2012 Legal assistant Krysia Suttles was chosen to receive the Georgia Parent Leadership Award presented yearly by the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Parent-Teacher Association. The award is given to parents statewide at the High School, Middle and Elementary levels. Krysia was one of two parents selected for the High School Level.
January 2012 John McKinley has obtained full dismissal of claims asserted by a plaintiff claiming serious injuries in a tractor-trailer collision on a motion to dismiss. The plaintiff had filed suit against the incorrect corporate entity and later amended the complaint. The Court held that the amendment was barred by the statute of limitation and dismissed the plaintiff’s claims.
December 2011 Wayne Taylor and his wife Nora gave up a few of their weekends in December to help rehabilitate a Habitat for Humanity house in south Atlanta. Habitat for Humanity provides simple, affordable housing for low income families. Habitat For Humanity is able to keep its houses affordable by having the homeowners and volunteers build the homes under trained supervision.
December 2011 Legal Assistant Sue Schultz is a published author and was elected Vice-President of the Christian Authors Guild (www.christianauthorsguild.org). Sue was also appointed to be on the board of a newly formed non-profit, Mary Magdalene Ministries, headquartered near Tampa, Florida.
November 2011 Firm Administrator Leanna Brown won second place in a Round Robin Charity Tennis Tournament for Sack Kids Hunger at Buford City Park. Sack Kids Hunger is a weekly ministry serving the greater Buford, Georgia community that began in November 2010 in response to the needs of children who receive breakfast and lunch during the school week but have limited resources on weekends.
November 2011 Wayne Taylor and Ruth Pawlak successfully obtained a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The appeals court affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissing their client, ACE American Insurance Company, from the case without the necessity of trial. The appeals court found that the absolute pollution exclusion in ACE’s commercial general liability insurance policies issued to Race Trac Petroleum, Inc. unambiguously precluded coverage for claims brought by former employees against Race Trac who alleged personal injury from exposure to benzene vapors in gasoline. The appeals court also ruled that enforcement of the absolute pollution exclusion did ot violate Georgia’s public policy because the ACE liability policies primarily are intended to provide Race Trac with coverage for risks associated with the operation of convenience stores.
November 2011 Arthur Mozley delivered a paper and speech entitled “Indemnity Agreements in the Aviation Context” at the NTSB Bar Association Blue Angels Air and Transportation Law Conference at the Hilton Hotel in Pensacola Beach, Florida.
October 2011 Wayne Taylor, and his wife Nora, went on a humanitarian aid mission to Havana and Santa Clara, Cuba. Wayne and Nora collected, sorted, packed and carried with them approximately 100 pounds of much needed prescription medications, clothing and school supplies that they delivered to pharmacies, schools and religious organizations.
October 2011 Larry Domenico and Jim Coyle were guest speakers at a seminar produced by National Financial Services Group in Atlanta, GA. At this seminar known as “Business Killers,” Jim and Larry addressed a group of successful business owners, and informed them about certain issues and scenarios that commonly destroy profitable long term businesses. The group was made aware of current legal trends related to shareholder agreements, management and key employee succession, buyouts, and estate planning issues for private business owners.
October 2011 John McKinley presented to claims personnel at a Continuing Insurance Education seminar on Vehicle Accident Reconstruction and Legal Considerations in Atlanta, Georgia.
September 2011 Brian Duva and Aaron Miller obtained an order in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granting summary judgment in favor of a sports memorabilia store in a premises liability and res ipsa loquitur action. The Court’s order also granted-in-part the store’s motion to exclude certain portions of the plaintiff’s affidavit used in support of her response to defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff alleged that she was injured when she attempted to sit down in a folding chair at defendant’s store.
September 2011 Wayne Taylor was a guest instructor for the Insurance Law class at Georgia State University College of Law, teaching on insurable interest and conditions precedent to recovery (duties of an insured following a loss) under first-party property insurance policies.
September 2011 Sixty miles in one direction can take you many places, but MF&L Legal Assistant Krysia Suttles has joined thousands of breast cancer supporters in preparing for the 2011 Susan G. Komen Atlanta 3-Day for the Cure ®. After months of training and fundraising, Krysia will walk 60 miles during three days to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and community-based breast health and education programs. This will be Krysia’s second year participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, and she hopes to walk for many years to come in honor and memory of her best friend who passed away after a 3-year battle.
The Susan G. Komen Atlanta 3-Day for the Cure begins on Friday morning, October 21, and ends with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday afternoon, October 23. Walkers cover 20 miles a day, traveling at their own pace. Hundreds of volunteer crew members support the walkers through the three-day journey providing meals, refreshments and snack stops, gear transport, hot showers, portable restrooms, safety on the streets and 24-hour medical services. The 3-Day for the Cure is the greatest distance you can go in the fight against breast cancer!
September 2011 Wayne Taylor and Ruth Pawlak authored a paper entitled “Damage Occurring from Theft of Copper: Is the Damage Covered as Vandalism or Excluded as Theft?,” one of two featured articles in the September 2011 on-line edition of Claims Advisor.
September 2011 Larry Domenico recently presented a Continuing Legal Education seminar on recent Changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with respect to Expert Witnesses. Larry made a similar presentation this past May to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers at their annual Product Safety and Liability conference.
July 2011 Jim Coyle and a group of clients and friends participated in the Feast of San Fermin in Pampalona, Spain, including the Encinnero “Running of the Bulls”. It was the fastest running in modern times. The El Pilar bulls set an Encinnero record of 2 minutes and 10 seconds on July 13, 2011. Despite a few tumbles and falls, all members of the group survived!
July 2011 Wayne Taylor, along with lawyers from a law firm in Orlando, Florida, co-instructed a lunch ‘n learn course on insurance coverage issues that arise from catastrophic losses to property claims personnel at Markel Insurance Company in Richmond, Virginia.
June 2011 Wayne Taylor taught a course on coverage for vandalism and the application of the theft exclusion in connection with claims for copper thefts to underwriting and claims personnel at the RSUI Group 2011 Property Claims Seminar.
June 2011 Wayne Taylor, along with lawyers from law firms in Orlando, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama, co-instructed a course on first-party property issues that arise due to damages caused by catastrophes to property claims personnel at various insurers in Boston, Massachusetts.
On the same day, Judge David issued another opinion, Builders Mutual Insurance Co. v. Parallel Design & Development, LLC, in which he ruled that Builders Mutual did possess a duty to defend its insured for damages arising out of Chinese drywall, finding the undefined term “pollutants” was ambiguous. Whether the term “pollutants” is defined in the policy appears to be a deciding factor for Judge Davis as the explanation for the opposite conclusions.
May 2011 William D. “Billy” Harrison was recognized by Georgia’s Best Lawyers as one of the exceptional lawyers in Atlanta in the area of Insurance law. Lawyers named in this publication are nominated by and voted in by their peers and must earn a spot through exemplary legal work that attracts the notice of their colleagues.
May 2011 Wayne Taylor and Ruth Pawlak obtained an order in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirming summary judgment in favor of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company in an insurance coverage lawsuit filed by Aydin and Company, inc. The appellate court held that a jewelers block insurance policy issued by Jewelers Mutual provided no coverage for the loss of jewelry allegedly stolen out of checked baggage because the jewelry was not in the custody of the insured at the time of the loss and the loss was a theft which was not covered due to the policy’s criminal acts exclusion. The appellate court additionally held that the “temporary safekeeping during travel” exception to the criminal acts exclusion did not apply to cover the loss because the airline took possession of the insured’s bag for transportation, not safekeeping, and because the airline’s contract of carriage specifically disclaimed responsibility for jewelry in checked baggage. The appellate court also found there was no factual basis for the insured’s alternative theory that the loss occurred during the TSA security inspection.
May 2011 Wayne Taylor was on the planning committee for the Windstorm Insurance Network 3rd Annual Regional WIND Symposium which took place on May 10, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, and was a co-instructor for the WIND umpire certification course.
May 2011 Larry Domenico spoke at the Association of Equipment Manufacturer’s 2011 Products Liability Seminar on May 5 in Chicago, Illinois. Larry discussed recent revisions to the Federal Rules of Evidence as they effect the role of expert witnesses in litigation.
April 2011 Wayne Taylor volunteered on Easter Sunday at the United Services Organization (“USO”) lounge at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Wayne served Easter dinner to soldiers and their families before the soldiers shipped out to Afghanistan and Iraq.
April 2011 Billy Harrison was a sponsoring patron for the Sweet Peas Festival at The Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Marietta, Georgia, which festival raised over $20,000 for outreach to those less fortunate in the surrounding community.
April 2011 Wayne Taylor co-instructed a class on “Unique Coverage Issues in Flood Losses” at the Property Loss Research Bureau 2011 Claims Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
April 2011 Wayne D. Taylor and Ruth M. Pawlak obtained an order in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissing a complaint filed against ACE American Insurance Company by RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc. The court held that ACE’s commercial general liability insurance policy’s absolute pollution exclusion unambiguously precluded coverage for claims brought by former employees against RaceTrac in underlying lawsuits alleging personal injury from exposure to benzene vapors in gasoline. The court also held that enforcement of the absolute pollution exclusion did not violate Georgia’s public policy.
March 2011 Managing Partner Robert M. Finlayson II was quoted in the Wall Street Journal in an article about firms and corporations which are in the process of renegotiating commercial lease space.
February 2011 J. Arthur Mozley and Robert M. Finlayson II were selected for inclusion in 2010Georgia Super Lawyers.
February 2011 Wayne Taylor and Ruth Pawlak authored a law journal article titled “Defective and Corrosive Drywall: Analyzing First-Party Coverage Issues”, published in the Fall 2010 issue of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, 46 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 63 (2011).
January 2011 Billy Harrison was on the faculty of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Trial Academy at Calloway Gardens, Georgia, at which he handled the mock trial’s opening argument and voir dire questions and led a small group for younger lawyers to practice their trial skills.
January 2011 Wayne Taylor was a co-instructor for the course “Handling Large Commercial Losses: Challenges, Expectations and Consideration” at the 2011 Windstorm Insurance Network 12th Annual WIND Conference in Houston, Texas.
December 2010 MF&L was recognized in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Book of Lists as one of the top 50 law firms in Atlanta, Georgia.
December 2010 Aaron Miller obtained a defense verdict in Gwinnett County State Court on behalf of a restaurant that had been sued for damages allegedly resulting from an adulterated beverage. Plaintiff alleged that she sustained serious injuries to her gastrointestinal system due to glass in her drink.
November 2010 Larry Domenico was a panelist at the June meeting of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Larry joined two other lawyers who discussed why, in their experience, deals go bad and what steps business brokers can take to protect their commissions.
October 2010 Wayne Taylor co-instructed a course on first-party coverage issues that arise due to property damages caused by hurricanes and other catastrophies to property claims personnel at RSUI Group, Inc.
June 2010 Wayne Taylor and Ruth Pawlak taught a course on evaluating first-party coverage for property damages caused by Chinese drywall to underwriting and claims personnel at RSUI Group, Inc. at the RSUI Group, Inc. in-house claims seminar.
June 2010 Wayne D. Taylor, Lawrence B. Domenico and Kristen M. Kelly of MF&L successfully represented Alta Refrigeration, Inc. in a lawsuit filed by Americold Logistics, LLC, stemming from a 2004 fire and explosion at Americold’s cold storage facility. Alta Refrigeration’s counsel convinced the Court of Appeals of Georgia to reverse the lower court’s grant of summary judgment on liability to Americold.
March 2010 J. Arthur Mozley was a panelist at the Aviation Law Seminar sponsored by the Aviation Law Section of the Georgia State Bar Association.
February 2010 Wayne Taylor served as a guest instructor of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts’ Litigation Boot Camp in Atlanta, Georgia.
April 10 2009 Larry Domenico was a featured presenter at the Spring Education Conference of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Larry spoke on the topic of “Protecting Your Commissions.” Curtis Martin and Megan Boyd assisted in preparing the presentation.
March 16, 2009 Kristen M. Kelley and Megan E. Boyd attended the 18th Annual Hope Fashion Show hosted by the American Cancer Society Auxiliary. Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins, LLP was a “Posh Sponsor” of the event which was held at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. The fashion show was presented by Belk and featured both professional and local celebrity models. The event also included silent and live auctions. The featured speaker this year at the Hope Fashion Show was Barbara Dooley, wife of longtime University of Georgia football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley and a cancer survivor.
November, 2008 Super Lawyers magazine named MF&L Partner Brian Duva as a Rising Star™marking him as a top Georgia lawyer under age 40. No more than 2.5% of Georgia lawyers can be named a Rising Star.
June 19, 2008 John L. McKinley, Jr. and Curtis J. Martin II obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial in Fulton County State Court. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant’s tractor-trailer driver negligently caused a collision on the interstate, seriously injuring the plaintiff. Plaintiff, who was driving a passenger vehicle, claimed permanent spinal injuries and disability from the collision.

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