Every July 1, the non-economic damages cap is adjusted to account for inflation and the average annual wage. As expected, this year we saw the largest increase in the past 19 years (7.84%) from $399,430.74 (2021) to $430,740.03. Please click here to view a chart with historical non-economic cap information. Idaho Statute Section 6-1603 is... View Post

July 6, 2022 RaDonda Vaught, a licensed nurse in the state of Tennessee, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect this spring after mistakenly giving a patient the paralyzing drug vecuronium rather than Versed. Prosecutors in the case did not allege that Vaught intended to hurt the patient or was impaired by... View Post

June 28, 2022 Idaho’s attorney fee rules begin with the principle that everyone pays for their own attorney. Stated another way, “Idaho follows the ‘American Rule’ of attorney fees, which requires a party requesting attorney fees on appeal to cite either statutory or contractual authority in support.” Mortensen v. Stewart Title Guar. Co., 149 Idaho... View Post

May 12, 2022 Here are some of the highlights from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare’s recent press release that states dog-bite related injuries are on the rise in Idaho. DOG BITE CLAIMS IN IDAHO – PART 1 “[I]n Idaho, all dogs, regardless of breed or size, are presumed to be harmless domestic animals.”... View Post

May 2, 2022 The relationship between an insurer and an insured is difficult to describe. In part, it is contractual in nature, because the insurance agreement between the insurer and the insured is a written contract. However, it is not purely contractual, which often results in somewhat unexpected outcomes in what seem to be normal... View Post

April 16, 2022 The NCAA Division 1 Board of Directors have instructed the Division 1 Council to prepare an extensive review on the impacts student-athletes are facing due to the new name, image, and likeness (NIL) landscape in college sports. Specifically, the Board of Directors are concerned with the influence of school choice, transfer opportunities,... View Post

April 6, 2022 We would like to inform you about an order recently issued by the Idaho Supreme Court that could have a significant impact on civil jury trials in Idaho. BACKGROUND As many of you are aware, on February 15, 2022, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare deactivated Crisis Standards of Care (CSC)... View Post

February 23, 2022 There have been attacks on UIM policies for years, with plaintiffs trying to obtain judicial rulings to increase payments under such policies. In 2019, the Idaho Supreme Court discussed UIM policies, and found that there were two types of coverage: “excess” and “difference in limits,” sometimes called “offset” coverage. Wood v. Farmers... View Post

February 9, 2022 We previously addressed the Constitutionality of vaccine mandates as applied to the COVID-19 vaccine. While the case law thus far is primarily employer-friendly, it is important for employers with vaccine mandates to remember that in some circumstances, the Americans With Disabilities Act (the ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act... View Post

January 20, 2022 CITY AND COUNTY CODES AND DOG BITES Cities and counties have interjected themselves into the mix in dog bite cases. It seems that, with the exception of Idaho Code § 25-2810(11), most regulations and rules dealing with dogs are dealt with at the municipal or county level. For example, Ada County Code... View Post

January 14, 2022 In August of 2021, BYU announced it had structured a whole-team NIL deal with Built Bar, a protein bar company that would allow scholarship players to receive $1,000 for representing the company, while also paying non-scholarship athletes a stipend, up to the entire cost of tuition (See GF Sports Advisors’ prior blog... View Post

January 13, 2022 As of December 20, 2021, the Crisis Standards of Care (“CSC”) that were activated throughout Idaho based on the risk posed by COVID-19 were all deactivated. However, Idaho’s courts are still facing some challenges and no civil jury trials have been held in Idaho’s largest county, Ada County, since March 2020.   Back... View Post