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Insurance
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April 30, 2013
Q&A With King & Spalding's Meghan Magruder
It is crucial for courts and legislatures to hold the insurance industry accountable for policy language where it is reasonable for policyholders to rely upon the language and expect that they will have insurance when they suffer a loss, says Meghan Magruder, a senior partner with King & Spalding LLP.
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April 30, 2013
Brooklyn Complex Owner Seeks $20M In Sandy Coverage
Cammeby's Management Co. LLC launched a suit in New York federal court Monday accusing Affiliated FM Insurance Co. of stiffing it on $20 million in coverage for Superstorm Sandy damage suffered by a commercial complex it owns in Brooklyn.
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April 29, 2013
Fla. Senate Stands Firm Behind $50B Medicaid Alternative
An elusive accord on expanding health care coverage for low-income Floridians, as mandated by the federal Affordable Care Act, looks even shakier after the Senate advanced a plan Monday that calls for using more than $50 billion in federal funding that the lower chamber has refused to accept.
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April 29, 2013
Goldman Sachs Asks 2nd Circ. To Kill MBS Suit
Goldman Sachs & Co. asked the Second Circuit on Monday to toss a Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. lawsuit alleging that as a Fannie Mae underwriter in 2007 the investment bank failed to disclose the mortgage giant’s exposure to subprime loans.
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April 29, 2013
4th Circ. Upholds Forfeitures In Health Fraud Case
The Fourth Circuit on Friday upheld the forfeitures of a house and money that were linked to an alleged insurance fraud scheme run by a Virginia doctor who has fled the country, ruling against the doctor’s parents, who claimed to be the innocent owners of the property.
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April 29, 2013
4th Circ. Remands A&O Fraudster's 60-Year Sentence
The Fourth Circuit on Monday reversed A&O Resource Management Ltd. co-owner Adley H. Abdulwahab’s money-laundering convictions and remanded his 60-year prison sentence stemming from his role in a $100 million life settlement investment scheme, ordering a lower court to resentence him.
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April 29, 2013
Blue Shield, Quest Say Lab Monopoly Suit Doesn't Hold Water
Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Co. and Quest Diagnostics Inc. urged a California federal judge Monday to toss claims that the companies conspired to create an illegal diagnostic-test monopoly, arguing that the plaintiffs haven't plausibly argued that the companies' relationship harms competition.
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April 29, 2013
Merck Escapes Suits Over Prescription Copay Coupons
A New Jersey federal judge on Monday tossed several proposed racketeering class actions against Merck & Co. Inc. alleging the drugmaker interfered with health plan contracts by bribing participants with discounts that unlawfully made prescription plans pay higher prices for name-brand drugs, saying plaintiffs failed to plead the necessary facts.
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April 29, 2013
NY Top Court Eyes Coverage Denials Tied To Disgorgement
New York's top court will hear arguments Wednesday on whether JPMorgan Securities Inc. should get a trial on its claims that insurers should fund most of a $250 million settlement the bank reached with securities regulators in a case that will test whether the term disgorgement, which often pops up in such agreements, categorically precludes coverage.
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April 29, 2013
JPMorgan Tears Into Insurer's $100M Bear Stearns CDO Suit
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC on Friday attacked an insurer's suit over more than $100 million in losses on Bear Stearns & Cos. Inc. collateralized debt obligations, arguing the insurer's efforts to pin the blame on Bear Stearns made "no sense."
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April 29, 2013
Highmark's $1.1B Deal For West Penn Clears Final Hurdle
Insurer Highmark Inc. on Monday announced the completion of its long-awaited acquisition of the West Penn Allegheny Health System, a deal estimated at roughly $1.1 billion, following approval of the transaction from the Pennsylvania Insurance Commission, an assent that also imposed conditions prohibiting exclusive insurance contracts.
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April 29, 2013
Simpson Thacher, Weil Steered AIG From $56B Suit, Starr Says
Starr International Co. Inc. fought Friday to save its $55.5 billion shareholder suit against the U.S. government over American International Group Inc.'s bailout, arguing the insurance giant relied on advice of conflicted attorneys when it refused to pursue the claims.
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April 29, 2013
Insurers Face $21M Suit Over Jet Detained In Russia
An aircraft leasing company seeking coverage for $21 million worth of losses incurred since Russian customs officials indefinitely detained one of its Boeing 757 jets five years ago lodged a suit Friday against Lloyd's of London underwriters and other insurers in California state court.
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April 29, 2013
Greenwich Stuck In Deutsche Bank Cleanup Coverage Row
Greenwich Insurance Co. can't escape a lawsuit over the allocation of insurance coverage to defend Deutsche Bank AG units sued by workers claiming debris from the bank's two buildings near Ground Zero made them sick, a New York state judge ruled Monday.
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April 29, 2013
Chubb Wants Full Panel Review Of 9th Circ. Superfund Loss
Chubb Insurance Co. on Friday requested an en banc rehearing of a March Ninth Circuit ruling to clarify whether an insurer is allowed to recover environmental cleanup expenses via subrogation lawsuits under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
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April 29, 2013
Ambac Set To Exit Bankruptcy After $102M IRS Deal Gets Nod
Ambac Financial Group Inc. is set to exit bankruptcy within days thanks to a judge's approval Monday of a $101.9 million settlement with the Internal Revenue Service to end a dispute over tax liabilities from certain contracts Ambac signed years ago.
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April 29, 2013
Q&A With Faegre Baker's Ernie Summers
Illinois has a very strong line of cases regarding an insurer's duty to defend its insured, including Employers Ins. Co of Wausaw v. Ehlco Liquidating Trust, which made clear that the duty to defend imposes an obligation on an insurer to affirmatively defend under reservation of rights, says Ernie Summers, a partner with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
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April 26, 2013
NY AG Drops Damages Bid In Suit Against Ex-AIG Chief
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman informed a state appeals court on Thursday that he is dropping his bid for damages in order to expedite a suit accusing ex-American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice Greenberg of misleading investors and regulators about the company's financial condition.
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April 26, 2013
AIG Gets Subprime Class Action Pared Down
A New York federal judge on Friday threw out part of a putative class action alleging American International Group Inc. misled investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages ahead of the financial crisis.
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April 26, 2013
Insurers Needn't Cover Old Lead Contamination, Court Told
National Fire Insurance of Hartford and Continental Casualty Co. asked a Wisconsin federal judge on Wednesday to block a sheet metal manufacturer's demands that they cover costs connected to decades-old lead and organic compound contamination, arguing that their policies exclude pollution claims.
Expert Analysis
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Ready Or Not, Final Compliance Guidelines Are Here
There are no more excuses for failing to adopt a comprehensive compliance program — the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a set of final compliance program guidelines applicable to sponsors, which serves as an important road map to health care providers for the development and refinement of compliance programs, say attorneys with Blank Rome LLP.
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Preparing Your Witness To Be A Performer
How do we prepare a witness, a layperson having no training in the art of litigation, to give an effective and memorable performance? A number of tips, when incorporated into your practice of law, will surely strengthen your witness's presentation at deposition and trial and the overall merits of your case, says Erika Ronquillo of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin PC.
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5 Tips To Avoid Bad Faith
While insurance companies often have a valid reason for determining no coverage, a perception exists that insurance companies do not play by the rules and unfairly deny claims. Since both policyholders and their attorneys may be motivated to file a bad-faith claim against an insurance company, insurers should review the number of recommendations for avoiding such a claim and an award of excess damages, say attorneys with Carroll Burdick & McDonough LLP.
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Beware The Jabberwock: Disclosing Documents To Insurers
When in defense of a lawsuit, insurers often demand privileged information from the policyholder. Doing so when the insurer has not reserved the right to deny coverage generally poses no problem, but when an insurer reserves the right at a later date, the interests of the policyholder and the insurer are not completely aligned, placing the policyholder at risk. Accordingly, any decision to provide privileged information to one’s insurer must be made carefully, say attorneys with Jones Day.
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9 Lessons For Trial Lawyers In Environmental Cases
Litigating large, complex environmental cases requires special skills as a trial lawyer, and lawyers and experts sometimes become so focused on small skirmishes that they forget the big picture and lose their credibility. A recent California case, American International Specialty Lines Insurance Company v. United States, provides a cautionary tale and a number of lessons that environmental attorneys should keep in mind, says William Wagner of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
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Calif. Takes Stab At Its Own Essential Health Benefits
Even before the proposal rule to implement the essential health benefits provisions of the Affordable Care Act was released, some states proceeded with their own proposals for implementing the provisions for their plans and exchanges. While California’s approach provides just one example of how the essential health benefits requirements are taking shape, this state’s early efforts may be particularly informative to stakeholders following these fast-paced developments, say attorneys with Sidley Austin LLP.
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Know The Standard Of FDIC Liability For Community Banks
More than 400 financial institutions have failed since September 2008, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund. The FDIC has filed a total of 41 professional liability lawsuits against former bank directors and officers of failed institutions. These developments warrant close attention from community bankers, since a majority of the complaints have involved small or medium-size banks, say attorneys with BuckleySandler LLP.
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Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege: Learn From Halifax
A Florida federal court's recent decision in U.S. v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center demonstrates that organizations need new resolve in order to protect emails with in-house counsel and the compliance department. While this case arose in the health care context, its lessons extend to any organization in a heavily regulated industry, including banking and insurance, that hopes to protect communications with in-house counsel and compliance personnel, say attorneys with Squire Sanders LLP.
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Post Irene And Sandy: Use Of Hurricane Deductibles
The severe weather events of the last two years have called into question the use of hurricane deductibles in the Northeast states. In both Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy, insurers were unable to apply such deductibles, and the insurance industry should continue to monitor this issue by involving the property and casualty insurance trade organizations and discussing the matter at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners level, say attorneys with Wilson Elser Moscowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.
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New Year Brings New Rules To Del. Trial Practice
On Jan. 2, 2013, in Christian v. Counseling Resource Associates Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court issued an interesting opinion representing a major shift in the way discovery extensions are to be handled in Delaware cases, with practice guidelines that will afford greater predictability to litigants and the trial courts, says Antranig Garibian of Stradley Ronon Stevens LLP.