MMandM

Most insurance contracts are contracts of adhesion, and policyholders "adhere" to wording chosen and punctuated by insurers. To keep insurers from abusing their monopolistic word usage authority, regulators typically require plain language contracts. Underlying this public policy is an almost na

Excellent Graeme , as always, and as we have seen of late, they will try to have things both ways. A Family member is any member of the same household unless it would cost the insurance company more money than it's just the way we see it this time.

I forgot to ad he deserved it

I confess, today I made a grown man cry like a baby on the witness stand and I quite enjoyed it. Sometimes I

In a Dissenting opinion, a 9th Circuit Judge Raps Cohabiting Couple. The case stemmed from a 2001 accident in which a man, I'll call Jim dove from a boat owned by his live in Girlfriend I'll call Mary, into shallow water, causing him to become a quadriplegic, according to the court decision. The couple had lived together for 20 months prior to the accident in "an intimate relationship," the decision said. The legal trouble arose when "Jim" sought to claim the maximum benefit, $100,000, from "Mary's"' insurer, Continental. Citing a clause that barred members of the same household from receiving the maximum, Continental instead offered $25,000, saying a provision limited any claim by a "family member" to that amount. The policy contained language defining "family member" as "any member of the same household." When Jim refused that offer, Continental asked the U.S. District Court to declare that Jim was entitled only to $25,000. But a federal judge ruled that the term "household" was ambiguous both by California case-law precedent, and as defined in standard and legal dictionaries. Since precedent required "ambiguous" insurance contracts be interpreted in favor of the insured, the judge ruled against Continental, which appealed to the 9th Circuit. The Senior Judge launched a vigorous dissent. "It appears that "Jim" and "Mary have successfully attached more importance to a single piece of paper, a marriage license, than they have ever before," wrote the Judge. "For quite some time, they have dwelt under the same roof. They have bedded down together in the same bed. The couple apparently felt that they did not need this single piece of paper to enjoy all the bliss of conjugal life. Nevertheless, they earnestly maintain that a marriage license vel non is of great importance to the Continental Insurance Company." Noting that "Jim" had sued "Mary" and that Mary's' counsel had advised her to "confess judgment" in that action, in their efforts to extract money from the insurer, The Judge quoted Holt v. Holt, 77 F2d 538, a 1935 appellate decision from the District of Columbia. "In essence," he wrote, "they undertake to 'litigate by day and copulate by night.'" I wonder if this Judge would have condemned the decision if this case involved a co-habituating homosexual couple rather than a co-habituating heterosexual couple.

That

Unfortunately it seems that few take responsibility for their own actions. It is always easier to blame some one else. Like idiots who spill hot coffee on themselves and then blame the restaurant making the coffee that it is too hot, rather than blaming themselves for drinking hot coffee while driving and talking on the cell.

Interesting. I have a younger brother and he

Lite dinner tonight. Grilled a skinless boneless chicken breast, cut it up over baby spinach with avocado, tomatoes, and cucumber and with a light Italian dressing on top.

IMO life's only purpose is for each of us to make of it what we will, you can be an observer or a participant, you can be a constructive contributor or a destructive critic, you can be a friend and neighbor or a murderer, you can make history or you can read history, it is your choice.

The only time I have use for labels is when I

Haha That is just the best thing I've read/heard/seen all day. Thank you Joe, for posting it, and they have no flack from their neighbors who mind their own business.

It is a red sauce Sharon, my grandmother always makes her own spaghetti sauce. She cooks the braciole along with meatballs in the sauce. The braciole is a Sicilian dish. I have actually found one restaurant that would serve braciole but you have to give them two days notice in advance.

I know how to cook but it's not one of my favorite things to do. Tonight I am celebrating a friend's birthday. There's a great restaurant in a hotel in Laguna Beach called Splash's and that's where I'll be having dinner tonight. Not sure what I'll order yet, everything on the menu is excellent. I come from an Italian family, my grandmother is the best cook and this recipe is one of my favorites but I've never been able to make it and you can't find it in Italian restaurants. It's called Braciole di Manzo, the only thing I don't have is the recipe for her sauce. She always makes her sauce on Sunday. This is the stuffing. !

Thank you Colin, Laws very from state to state. In some states law there are provisions for a parent to sign over their rights (terminate the parental relationship) and quite a few parents of gay and lesbian teens try to do just that, but they are still held responsible for paying child support unless someone else adopts the child. What I usually volunteer to do is file the appropriate paper work in a court of law and terminate their parental rights, but you better believe I make sure they pay support until that child reaches the age of majority.

Happy birthday, I stopped having birthdays once I hit 30

You still are a kid

Some people may be surprised just how many gay and lesbian teens are turned out on the streets by their parents because of their sexuality. It

No I did not drop the soap and I wasn't kept with the general population. Okay I have something else to confess, well it's not really a confession but just something really stupid I did. When I go tanning I tan in my underwear, well one day I was in a hurry, after the tanning bed went off I wiped myself down with the towel, grabbed my clothes and walked out of the room into the lobby area where 4 other people were waiting for rooms. They were all staring at me with a smile on their face. I didn't even notice I was still in my underwear until I walked outside the salon into the parking lot.

The more I think about it, the more I think it is too much stimulation for me. My personal take is that I am here as a gift from God and I have been given a set amount of time to enjoy and experience the things which are here and going on around me. This includes the sad joy of experiencing pain and grief. After all are not pain and grief also gifts since they allow me to better enjoy happy moments such as love and even solitude? Wishful thinking perhaps?

Grandparent rights in some states have been declared unconstitutional after the U.S. Supreme Court considered the subject matter in Toxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000). http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getc...30&invol=57 Generally, a fit parent has the fundamental right to the care, custody, and control of his/her children to the exclusion of all others. So the question is where is this child

Well of course I have a sense of humor dear, why do you think I

I may have missed something but I didn

Six months ago a Judge held me in contempt of court, fined me $1,000.00 and sentenced me to 48 hours in jail. It was worth every penny and time well spent Who

In any case, this spoiled little flax needs a few days in the real world. I only wish the judge were allowed to extend her sentence for being so bloody annoying. Maybe she'll try to get some lip-gloss smuggled in and end up getting her time doubled, or better yet, they'll send her to solitary! I can't imagine a worse punishment than having to spend a week in a room with Paris Hilton. And if she's so mentally distraught that she can't even testify on her own behalf, perhaps she should spend a bit of time in a state mental institution once she gets out of the pokey. I hear those white coats are all the rage this year.