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Brains May Make Automatic Memory Back-Up
May 5, 2017
The way brains form memories could be completely different than previously believed according to new research. It suggests we make two simultaneous memories: one for short-term and one for the long-term. Until now the prevailing belief was that the hippocampus creates a memory that is then transferred to the cortex. That was partly derived from patients with conditions, similar to those depicted in the movie Memento, in which hippocampus damage means they are unable to form new memories but retain...
May 5, 2017
The way brains form memories could be completely different than previously believed according to new research. It suggests we make two simultaneous memories: one for short-term and one for the long-term. Until now the prevailing belief was that the hippocampus creates a memory that is then transferred to the cortex. That was partly derived from patients with conditions, similar to those depicted in the movie Memento, in which hippocampus damage means they are unable to form new memories but retain...
Texas High Court Establishes Clear Rules for Breach of Contract, Bad Faith Suits Against Insurers
May 5, 2017
In an effort to clear up confusion as a result of past decisions, the Texas Supreme Court announced five rules that “address the relationship between contract claims under an insurance policy and tort claims under the Insurance Code.” The clarification was part of an opinion issued earlier this month in the matter of USAA Texas Lloyd’s Company v. Gail Menchaca. The rules came about from prior decisions on similar Texas cases: The General Rule – An insured can’t recovery policy...
May 5, 2017
In an effort to clear up confusion as a result of past decisions, the Texas Supreme Court announced five rules that “address the relationship between contract claims under an insurance policy and tort claims under the Insurance Code.” The clarification was part of an opinion issued earlier this month in the matter of USAA Texas Lloyd’s Company v. Gail Menchaca. The rules came about from prior decisions on similar Texas cases: The General Rule – An insured can’t recovery policy...
Article on Class Actions as Trusts
May 4, 2017
Sergio J. Campos recently published an Article entitled, The Class Action as Trust, 91 Wash. L. Rev. 1461 (2016). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: The class action is controversial because the class attorney can litigate or settle the claims of the class members without their consent. Many scholars have turned to corporate law to address the potentially disloyal behavior of the class attorney. These scholars have used analogies to corporate law to support (1) the use of opt-out rights...
May 4, 2017
Sergio J. Campos recently published an Article entitled, The Class Action as Trust, 91 Wash. L. Rev. 1461 (2016). Provided below is an abstract of the Article: The class action is controversial because the class attorney can litigate or settle the claims of the class members without their consent. Many scholars have turned to corporate law to address the potentially disloyal behavior of the class attorney. These scholars have used analogies to corporate law to support (1) the use of opt-out rights...
Twombly and Iqbal at the State Level
May 4, 2017
This article contributes to the empirical literature on pleading standards by studying the effect of Twombly and Iqbal at the state level. States account for the majority of civil litigation, yet they are understudied doctrinally and empirically. When we consider pleading at the state level, we can leverage differences across space and time in a way that is impossible with studies of federal courts. Using an array of principled empirical approaches on the best available data, we find no evidence...
May 4, 2017
This article contributes to the empirical literature on pleading standards by studying the effect of Twombly and Iqbal at the state level. States account for the majority of civil litigation, yet they are understudied doctrinally and empirically. When we consider pleading at the state level, we can leverage differences across space and time in a way that is impossible with studies of federal courts. Using an array of principled empirical approaches on the best available data, we find no evidence...
What to Do When Big Bad Companies Won’t Negotiate
May 4, 2017
The authors reprise and update their earlier work “Last Plane Out” to examine the state of the art of negotiation with large companies who are repeat players in negotiation (airlines, Amazon, government agencies, retailers and others), analyzing past practices of “customer is always right” to current efforts to routinize and “electronocize” negotiations with customers, who are sometimes “one-off” negotiators. The authors analyze how both problem solving and more routinized negotiations...
May 4, 2017
The authors reprise and update their earlier work “Last Plane Out” to examine the state of the art of negotiation with large companies who are repeat players in negotiation (airlines, Amazon, government agencies, retailers and others), analyzing past practices of “customer is always right” to current efforts to routinize and “electronocize” negotiations with customers, who are sometimes “one-off” negotiators. The authors analyze how both problem solving and more routinized negotiations...
Article on Attorneys Liability to Nonclients for Estate Planning Malpractice
May 3, 2017
Kaitlyn C. Kelly recently published an Article entitled, Put Privity in the Past: A Modern Approach for Determining when...
May 3, 2017
Kaitlyn C. Kelly recently published an Article entitled, Put Privity in the Past: A Modern Approach for Determining when...
Oral Argument in Federal Court Becoming a Lost Art
May 3, 2017
Oral argument - the once commonplace art of making one’s case before the judge - is slipping into obscurity in the nation’s federal courtrooms after steadily going out of fashion. This is especially so in the federal circuit courts of appeals across the country. In the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2006, 25.9 percent, or 8,956, of all 34,580 cases decided on their merits were disposed of after hearing arguments, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In the most...
May 3, 2017
Oral argument - the once commonplace art of making one’s case before the judge - is slipping into obscurity in the nation’s federal courtrooms after steadily going out of fashion. This is especially so in the federal circuit courts of appeals across the country. In the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2006, 25.9 percent, or 8,956, of all 34,580 cases decided on their merits were disposed of after hearing arguments, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In the most...
Do Credit-Based Insurance Scores Proxy for Income in Predicting Auto Claim Risk?
May 3, 2017
Property and casualty insurers often use credit-based insurance scores in their underwriting and rating processes. The practice is controversial—many consumer groups oppose it, and most states regulate it, in part out of concern that insurance scores proxy for policyholder income in predicting claim risk. We offer new evidence on this issue in the context of auto insurance. Prior studies on the subject suffer from the limitation that they rely solely on aggregate measures of income, such as the median...
May 3, 2017
Property and casualty insurers often use credit-based insurance scores in their underwriting and rating processes. The practice is controversial—many consumer groups oppose it, and most states regulate it, in part out of concern that insurance scores proxy for policyholder income in predicting claim risk. We offer new evidence on this issue in the context of auto insurance. Prior studies on the subject suffer from the limitation that they rely solely on aggregate measures of income, such as the median...
@United and @AmericanAir Prove #Apology Theory
May 2, 2017
Researchers have recently studied the impact of apologies in averting and resolving disputes. But not even experimental psychologists...
May 2, 2017
Researchers have recently studied the impact of apologies in averting and resolving disputes. But not even experimental psychologists...
Survey: Major Disruption Expected in Claims
May 2, 2017
Engaging customers and improved claims processes are the top goals for innovating the claims customer service experience, according to a new survey of 400 insurance executives released by Insurance Nexus. The insurance research and analysis firm found that 78 percent of insurance executives believe that the American insurance claims industry is in the midst of significant disruption, with artificial intelligence, automation and IoT having the most impact on claims innovation. Insurers’ top priorities...
May 2, 2017
Engaging customers and improved claims processes are the top goals for innovating the claims customer service experience, according to a new survey of 400 insurance executives released by Insurance Nexus. The insurance research and analysis firm found that 78 percent of insurance executives believe that the American insurance claims industry is in the midst of significant disruption, with artificial intelligence, automation and IoT having the most impact on claims innovation. Insurers’ top priorities...
