State Farm

1. Most Admired Attys: Wiley Rein's Laura Foggan

Thursday, Sep 02, 2010

A longtime advocate for the insurance industry who has won colleagues' respect for her more than 25 years of contributions to insurance law, as well as a bevy of wins, Wiley Rein LLP's Laura Foggan has earned a spot among Law360's 10 Most Admired Insurance Attorneys.

2. Recent Life And Annuity Decisions Across 5 States

Thursday, Sep 02, 2010

A handful of federal and state court decisions in Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York over the past year address myriad aspects of the sale of stranger-originated life insurance, says Penelope M. Taylor of McCarter & English LLP.

3. Most Admired Attys: Skadden's Sheila Birnbaum

Tuesday, Aug 31, 2010

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's Sheila Birnbaum has spent her career blazing trails both for companies facing major mass tort actions and for women in the legal profession, earning a spot on Law360's list of the 10 Most Admired Product Liability Attorneys.

4. La. Insurer Settles Katrina Contractor Suit For $23M

Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010

Louisiana's property insurer of last resort has reached a $23 million settlement with customers who claimed the company had not sufficiently covered so-called overhead and profit claims stemming from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

5. 10th Circ. Affirms Remand Of Superfund Fraud Case

Friday, Aug 20, 2010

A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling that remanded to state court a mass action accusing a raft of insurers, appraisers and Oklahoma state officials of collusion and fraud in the distribution of payouts to homeowners relocated from an Oklahoma Superfund site.

6. 5 New Insurance Opinions By The Texas High Court

Wednesday, Aug 11, 2010

The Texas Supreme Court has recently delivered five opinions that deal with insurance issues, and those opinions follow two recent trends, says David F. Johnson of Winstead PC.

7. Antitrust Suit Against Allstate, State Farm Gets New Life

Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010

A federal appeals court has revived a putative antitrust class action alleging Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Allstate Indemnity Co., State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and others conspired to provide policyholders with inferior replacement parts.

8. The Opt-Out Decision In Price-Fixing Cases

Wednesday, Jul 21, 2010

Ideally, where price-fixing or market allocation is alleged and a corporation is a major direct purchaser of the product at issue, the legal department should be informed of the situation early enough to consider the filing of a direct action case concurrently with the inevitable class action filings. A number of factors should be considered in deciding whether and when to become a direct action plaintiff, say Joseph W. Bell and Mitchell J. Rapp of Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP.

9. Insurers Need Not Cover Avent's BPA Claims: 7th Circ.

Thursday, Jul 15, 2010

A federal appeals court has upheld a decision that will force Avent America Inc. to go it without insurance coverage in litigation accusing the company of knowingly putting toxic bisphenol A into baby bottles, sippy cups and other children's products.

10. Judge Slashes Damages In Music Download Case

Friday, Jul 09, 2010

A federal judge has decimated a $675,000 jury verdict against a then-undergraduate who illegally shared music, calling the damages won by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and several other record companies “unconstitutionally excessive.”

11. Former Intern Sues State Farm For Overtime

Wednesday, Jul 07, 2010

A State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. intern has filed a lawsuit accusing the insurance company of failing to pay its employees overtime compensation.

12. State Farm $30M Class Deal Over Inflated Rates Ok'd

Tuesday, Jun 29, 2010

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. has scored a judge's initial go-ahead on its truce with a putative class of policyholders who accused the company of charging them inflated premiums on their homeowners insurance.

13. Obama Nominates 2 US Attorneys, District Judges

Friday, May 28, 2010

President Barack Obama has sent Congress two nominees for U.S. attorney posts in West Virginia and Wisconsin, and two nominees for U.S. district judge vacancies in Illinois and North Carolina.

14. Simsol Wants Out Of Katrina Insurance Fraud Suit

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Simsol Insurance Services Inc. is seeking to be dropped from a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that a slew of insurers and adjusters defrauded the federal government by falsely classifying wind damage as flood damage following Hurricane Katrina, arguing that the loss-shifting allegations against it are impossible because it is an independent flood adjusting company, not an insurer.

15. Frequently Litigated Liability Policy Conditions In Texas

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Nearly every liability insurance policy includes some form of conditions, and as conditions precedent to coverage, an insured’s compliance with these conditions is imperative. Here are four frequently litigated liability policy conditions and their treatment primarily by Texas state and federal courts, says Rhonda J. Thompson of Thompson Coe Cousins & Irons LLP.

16. Reps Push To Add Wind, Hail To Insurance Program

Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010

As long as wind and flood coverage for homeowners are dealt with in separate policies, there will be gaps in coverage and related disputes after hurricanes, two representatives from the Gulf Coast told a panel of their fellow lawmakers Wednesday.

17. Drug Test Co. Wants Negligence Coverage Suit Tossed

Tuesday, Apr 20, 2010

A Kentucky drug testing company wants a federal court to toss a declaratory judgment suit from State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. over coverage of underlying negligence claims, saying the court lacks jurisdiction because it is not adjudicating the underlying suit.

18. Baker Donelson Nabs Johnston Barton Bankruptcy Pro

Tuesday, Apr 20, 2010

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has pulled in a reorganization expert from Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose LLP to ramp up its bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice.

19. Insurance Suit Numbers Hold Steady In 1st Quarter

Friday, Apr 16, 2010

Despite a surge of litigation over Chinese drywall and financial-meltdown related claims, insurance lawsuit filings showed almost no increase in the first quarter of 2010 from the last three months of 2009, according to a Law360 review of federal court data.

20. Fraud Suit Over Superfund Trust Payouts Remanded

Thursday, Apr 15, 2010

Finding that the case satisfied the local controversy exception to the Class Action Fairness Act, a federal judge has remanded a mass action against a raft of insurers, appraisers and Oklahoma state officials that alleges collusion and fraud in the distribution of payouts to homeowners for relocations from an Oklahoma Superfund site.