Alysha D. Bayes

This decision addresses whether the owner of a vehicle (Floyd Thomas) provided implied consent to his son (Robert Thomas) to possess and operate the vehicle, which was involved in a serious accident.

The court found that there was no implied consent, based on clear evidence that Robert knew he did not have permission, and that Floyd had a consistent history of restricting access.

The court declined to dismiss the action entirely, as other negligence issues remained for trial.

Michael Pryce, a licensed paralegal, sought professional negligence coverage under a LawPro policy issued to Jamie Bruce, a lawyer at his firm.

LawPro accepted coverage for the lawyer and the firm but declined coverage for Pryce, who was separately insured under a mandatory Paralegal Professional Liability policy issued by Lloyd’s Underwriters.

The court examined the LawPro policy wording, its commercial background, and the theory of vicarious liability.

It found that the LawPro policy explicitly insures lawyers and their firms only in relation to the professional services of lawyers, not paralegals.

The regulatory scheme mandates separate insurance for lawyers and paralegals, supporting the interpretation that LawPro's policy does not cover paralegals.

The court also rejected the argument that an employer's vicarious liability extends to an insurer's duty to defend an employee not covered by the policy.

The application for coverage was dismissed.