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An Appellate Win for the Home Team
Today we received the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Giddens v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, Docket No. 05-10816. See A win for the home team in dentist’s disability insurance case and A day at the 11th Circuit. The court affirmed the summary judgment we had won in District Court in favor of Dr. Giddens on his real estate occupation. It was not a surprise or a disappointment that the court reversed the District Court’s decision to deny Equitable’s motion for summary judgment on the dental occupation, as Dr. Giddens had been away from dental practice due to poor health for four years before submitted his disability claim. See “Occupation defense” in disability insurance.
Interestingly, the Court of Appeals did not even discuss Equitable’s arguments for excluding disability opinions of treating physicians under Daubert. See Frivolous Daubert motions continue to seek exclusion of routine testimony by treating physicians.
The Eleventh Circuit decision was designated for publication, so there will be a published appellate precedent that may be of interest to lawyers representing other insureds is disability insurance cases around the country.
The wheels of justice grind far too slowly, but with persistence, oh so fine.
The Shigley Law Firm represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks).