The consensus seems be that it is ethical for attorneys employed by subrogors to represent subrogees. See, e.g., ABA Comm, on Ethics & Prof'l Responsibility, Informal Op.
A contractual subrogee is a stranger to a wrong who pays the victim for the victim's injury and then gains the right to receive repayment from the defendant based on the victim's rights, often by enforcing those rights.
(96.) In Greenwood, underwriters of the auction house's errors-and-omissions insurance reimbursed the auction house for its payment to the purchaser at auction, then sued the consignor as
subrogees of the auction house's claim.
In their anxiety not to leave out the person who would be liable for the claim, often the consignees or their
subrogees decipher names of same party or the other from the shipping documents whom they regard to be the owner and thus implead them as well.
(61) Unfortunately, health authorities, such as provincial health care plans, may still claim under this theory for medical monitoring costs as
subrogees. (62) Moreover, the number of services and treatments covered by provincial health care plans are declining.
In opposing the motion, Feingold argued that there is an issue of fact as to whether his actions were negligent and whether that negligence was a proximate cause of the property damage sustained by plaintiffs'
subrogees.
Applying these principles to the instant facts, the Court of Appeals noted that the primary and excess carriers sought to recover as
subrogees on the theory that the vehicle's lessee was required to indemnify them per the lease agreement.
Another concern facing
subrogees with respect to the spoliation of evidence is the potential of exposing themselves to independent actions for the loss or destruction of the evidence.
Chubb Custom Insurance Company (Chubb), as
subrogee of TaubeKoret Campus for Jewish Life (Taube-Koret), brought a claim under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (46) to recover insurance payments it made to Taube-Koret for environmental response costs.