Lexington Ins. Co. v. Horace Mann Inc. Co.

Plaintiff was precluded from appealing adverse decisions with respect to Dist. Ct. order denying its Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as matter of law that was filed during trial of instant insurance dispute in which defendant had argued that it had no duty to indemnify plaintiff in underlying insurance claim due to plaintiff’s failure to timely notify it of said claim, and that said claim pre-dated issuance of relevant policy. Plaintiff failed to renew its motion for judgment notwithstanding verdict under Rule 50(b), which was required in order to proceed to instant appeal. Fact that Dist. Ct. had granted defendant’s Rule 50(a) motion on same issue or that instant matter had not been submitted to jury did not relieve plaintiff of its obligation to file Rule 50(b) motion after its Rule 50(a) motion had been denied. Ct. made similar ruling with respect to plaintiff’s appeal of Dist. Ct.’s denial of its Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as matter of law against defendant-insurance broker, whom plaintiff claimed had failed either to advise it about relevant claim submission process or to follow through on plaintiff’s instruction to more timely inform defendant about existence of underlying insurance claim.