Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

William Burke v. Progressive Gulf Insurance Company

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 19-1670 · judgment January 30, 2020


Certiorari denied · October 5, 2020
Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

This case involves a simple insurance claim to Progressive Gulf Insurance made by William Burke when his boat sank in January 2018 . Progressive manipulated the court system and the judiciary process throughout the proceedings through a series of calculated actions meant to deny William Burke the right to a fair trial as guaranteed under the Seventh Amendment. Progressive Insurance sued Mr. Burke in Federal Court erroneously claiming Maritime and Admiralty jurisdiction based on obsolete, outdated laws to put him at a disadvantage. They then proceeded to file a motion for Summary Judgment to settle the case without a trial which precluded Mr. Burke from having his proverbial day in court. Question 1 : Is an insurance company allowed to manipulate outdated, obsolete maritime laws in order to falsely claim that a vessel is located in navigable waters with the primary goal of putting the insured at a legal and financial disadvantage? Question 2 : Did the Summary Judgment deny Mr. Burke’s constitutional right to a fair trial under Amendment 7? l.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
William Burke

For respondent
Christopher Alan Abel
Willcox & Savage, PC

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 05 2020
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Sep 02 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
  3. Aug 29 2020
    Reply of petitioner William Burke filed. (Distributed)
  4. Aug 12 2020
    Brief of respondent Progressive Gulf Insurance in opposition filed.
  5. Jun 29 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 12, 2020)