Zev Bergman

The applicant, a person under disability following a catastrophic motor vehicle accident, sought court approval of a $675,000 all-inclusive settlement for statutory accident benefits.

The court approved the settlement amount as being in the applicant's best interests.

However, the court found the proposed contingency fee of $164,714.87 to be unreasonable given the moderate-to-low risk and the limited time docketed.

The court reduced the approved legal fees to $70,000.

The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident while a passenger in a taxi.

The taxi collided with a vehicle owned by the defendant mother and driven by her unlicensed, intoxicated son.

The mother's insurer brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's uninsured coverage claims, arguing the son had implied consent to drive.

The mother brought a cross-motion to dismiss the action against her, arguing her son drove without consent.

The court found the mother had explicitly forbidden her son from driving her vehicle years prior, kept the keys in their usual place, and had no reason to suspect he would take the car while she was on vacation.

The court concluded the son did not have implied consent, dismissing the action against the mother and dismissing the insurer's motion.