Overall
Key cases
Industries
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Corporate
Practice Areas
Insurance
-
April 8, 2013
Insurer Owes Lawn Care Co. $2M For Faulty Vacuum Suit
An Indiana appeals court on Monday found that Indiana Insurance Co. owes up to $2 million to lawn care accessory manufacturer Palmor Products Inc. in litigation over the company’s allegedly defective leaf vacuum that injured a man’s arm and hand.
-
April 8, 2013
Cigna, Clinics Escape FCA Suit Over Patient Perks
A Cigna Inc. unit and a Florida clinic chain on Friday escaped a whistleblower False Claims Act suit accusing them of violating anti-kickback law by providing unlawful inducements to lure Medicare patients when a Tennessee federal judge ruled the relator’s claims weren’t based on firsthand evidence.
-
April 5, 2013
Chubb Owes Bank No Coverage For $17M Fraud, 7th Circ. Says
The Seventh Circuit ruled Friday that a Chubb Corp. unit does not have to defend a Bankmanagers Corp. unit in a suit over a $17.4 million fraud perpetrated by a former president of headphone maker Koss Corp., saying the bank's insurance policy clearly excluded thefts that occurred outside of company property.
-
April 5, 2013
Jury Orders UnitedHealth To Pay $24M Over Hep C Outbreak
A Nevada state jury Thursday found two United HealthCare Services Inc. units had negligently failed to monitor a doctor responsible for a hepatitis C outbreak, awarding $24 million to two patients who were infected with the disease.
-
April 4, 2013
Top NY Court Nixes Starwood's Bid For $10M Chubb Coverage
New York's high court on Tuesday denied Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s appeal of a ruling that a Chubb Corp. affiliate does not have to pay more than $10 million for Starwood's defense costs in a suit over cost overruns at a Florida hotel.
-
April 3, 2013
1st Circ. Rules Against Pfizer In 3 Neurontin RICO Suits
The First Circuit on Wednesday dealt Pfizer Inc. three major defeats over Neurontin litigation, ruling that the company's fraudulent marketing of the epilepsy drug directly caused Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., Harden Manufacturing Corporation and Aetna Inc. to suffer financially.
-
April 3, 2013
Berkshire Unit Can't Shake Home Defect Coverage Suit
A Nevada federal judge on Tuesday said that two Swiss Re Ltd. units can continue to pursue defense coverage from a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. affiliate for construction defect litigation, shooting down the argument that the case was moot simply because the underlying suits have been settled.
-
April 2, 2013
AIG Settles $350M CDO Suit Against Investment Firm ICP
ICP Asset Management LLC has settled American International Group Inc.'s claims that the investment adviser rigged a complex securities transaction to put AIG on the hook for $350 million, an attorney for a hedge fund co-defendant said during a New York state appeals court hearing Tuesday.
-
April 2, 2013
Countrywide Can't Shake $4B MBS Suit In NY Appeals Court
A New York state appeals court ruled Tuesday that MBIA Inc. can pursue Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide Financial Corp. to recover $4 billion the bond insurer paid to Countrywide mortgage-backed securities investors, finding the loans don't need to be in default to trigger a payment obligation.
-
April 2, 2013
3rd Circ. Upholds Electrolux Win In Fridge Fire Row
The Third Circuit on Tuesday upheld Electrolux Home Products Inc.'s win in an insurance company's suit alleging one of Electrolux's refrigerators caused a fire the insurer covered, saying a lower court correctly considered the insurer's alleged failure to preserve a critical piece of evidence.
-
April 2, 2013
Ambac Can't Compel Discovery In $641M JPMorgan MBS Suit
Ambac Assurance Corp. can't force due diligence firm Clayton Holdings LLC to fork over more emails and documents in the monoline insurer's $641 million mortgage-backed securities lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., a New York state judge ruled Tuesday, calling the request "a bridge too far."
-
April 2, 2013
7th Circ. Finds Law Firm Filed Malpractice Claim Too Late
The Seventh Circuit decided Tuesday that the Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Co. wasn't responsible for covering Koransky Bouwer & Poracky PC's claim for a malpractice suit over a misfiled Ohio sales contract because the law firm wasn't timely in notifying the insurer about a potential suit.
-
April 2, 2013
David Lerner Loses Coverage For FINRA, Class Claims
An insurer on Friday beat David Lerner Associates Inc.'s attempt to win coverage for three class actions and a regulatory proceeding that led to a $14 million fine, after a New York judge ruled the brokerage's policy excluded claims that it misled investors in a real estate investment trust.
-
April 1, 2013
Lubrizol Can't Get Coverage For Pollution Cleanup Costs
A federal judge ruled Saturday that Arrowood Indemnity Co. had no duty to cover specialty chemicals company The Lubrizol Corp. for pollution remediation costs related to a lawsuit over a Houston Superfund site.
-
April 1, 2013
Insurer Off Hook For Accounting Biz's $259M Judgment Share
A New York federal judge ruled Thursday that a wrongful acts exclusion saves Admiral Insurance Co. from covering Silverman Neu LLP in a class action alleging the accounting firm helped debt counseling companies commit fraud and should contribute to a $259 million judgment.
-
April 1, 2013
Blue Cross Must Review Denied Autism Therapy Claims
A Michigan federal judge on Saturday ruled that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan had wrongly denied applied behavior analysis therapy claims made by a class of parents of autistic children, saying the company's decision was arbitrary and ordering it to re-examine the claims.
-
March 29, 2013
Verizon Retirees Clinch Class Status In ERISA Suit
A Texas federal judge on Thursday granted class certification to two sets of Verizon Communications Inc. retirees who sued the telecommunications company after it transferred billions in assets and part of its pension obligations to Prudential Insurance Co. of America.
-
March 28, 2013
Swiss Re, Berkshire Hathaway Settle $1.5B Reinsurance Row
Swiss Re said Thursday that it and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. have settled a dispute over a 2010 reinsurance deal that reduces Warren Buffett’s conglomerate’s exposure under the contract from $1.5 billion to $1.05 billion in exchange for a payment of $610 million.
-
March 27, 2013
'Faulty' Jail Construction Warrants No Coverage, 3rd Circ. Says
The Third Circuit on Wednesday freed R.M. Shoemaker Co.'s insurers from an obligation to cover claims that the construction firm performed shoddy work when it built a New Jersey jail, affirming a lower court's ruling granting summary judgment to the insurers.
-
March 27, 2013
Wagner & Jones, Others Disqualified In Fidelity Wage Case
A California federal judge Monday disqualified Wagner & Jones LLP and three other plaintiffs' law firms from representing dozens of individual plaintiffs in a wage-and-hour suit against Fidelity National Management Services LLC after they used a confidential employee list to contact them following an unsuccessful class certification bid.
Expert Analysis
-
UK Tax Advisers Are Beyond Legal Advice Privilege
A recent judgment from the U.K. Supreme Court in one of the most significant decisions on legal advice privilege for many years. Prudential PLC v. Special Commissioner of Income Tax, which dealt a blow to tax advisers and other nonlegally qualified service providers who provide legal advice to their clients, confirmed that — consistent with the position in the U.S. — legal advice privilege only protects communications to or from a qualified lawyer, say Richard Hornshaw and Daniel Cohen of Bingham McCutchen LLP.
-
What 'Monty Python' Tells You About NJ's Insurance Law
As illustrated by a sketch from "Monty Python's Flying Circus," which captures an aspect of New Jersey's law on bad faith claim-handling, New Jersey needs to pass the bill that would give policyholders a statutory right to bring bad faith claims against their insurers because current law permits a carrier to handle claims poorly without any real threat of consequence, says Carl Salisbury of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
-
Dissecting FATCA: Oil And Gas Trader Edition
Under the U.S. Department of Treasury's Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, foreign oil and gas traders must take steps now to ensure that they are on the correct path to compliance. On the other hand, the Treasury should issue additional guidance allowing withholding agents to apply for refunds on behalf of the recipients of withholdable payments. Otherwise, there may be too much administrative burden, creating a tax windfall for the Treasury, say attorneys with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
-
How To Defend Your Co. From Gov't Health Care Claims
Federal enforcement of False Claims Act, Stark anti-kickback and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act claims against health care companies are rising rapidly. In order to defray the costs to defend a company from such government investigations, companies should review the tips to getting the most out of their directors and officers and errors and omissions policies, say attorneys with King & Spalding LLP.
-
A Look At The Health Care M&A Horizon
Factors such as the Affordable Care Act’s payment reforms, downward pressure on costs, enhanced focus among payers on outcomes and quality, and expanded Medicaid roles will continue in 2013 to influence M&A activity across industry sectors, increase regulatory and compliance costs, and provide additional incentives to federal and state agencies to boost enforcement efforts, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
-
Don't Miss The Boat On Rescission Claims
While it is important for Superstorm Sandy insurers seeking relief from misrepresentations made by insureds to remember that rescission may be an appropriate remedy, insurers should note that under New York law, their time to bring a claim for rescission is limited, and they will not be permitted to sit on their rights, says Kristin Suga Heres of Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP.
-
Expert Testimony Is Key In RMBS Liability
As residential mortgage-backed securities disputes between sophisticated insurers and financial entities intensify, expert testimony is emerging as a critical factor in determining whether insurers can avoid liability and recoup some of the losses already realized by the industry, say attorneys with Choate Hall & Stewart LLP.
-
NY Cedents Enjoy More Protection And Authority
While some have stated that the New York Court of Appeals ruling in United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. American Re-Insurance Co. was favorable to reinsurers, the decision actually provides further support for expanding the protections of the follow-the-settlement doctrine to post-settlement allocation decisions, say attorneys with Hunton & Williams LLP.
-
Coming Soon To SCOTUS: Technicalities Of Saying 'I Do'
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to accept two cases addressing same-sex marriage, Windsor v. United States and Hollingsworth v. Perry, has raised questions about the potential consequences for employers, insurers, health care providers and others. The most significant impact of these decisions may be on employee benefits governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, say attorneys with Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
-
6 Areas Often Underestimated In Law Firm Mergers
While mergers in other industries are driven by cost efficiencies or economies of scale, law firm mergers are typically focused on the potential to leverage clients and the overall quality of the attorney population, branding and market position. As a result, full disclosure of third-party vendor or support function operating costs can be a secondary concern until after the deal closes. Firms need to hit the ground running the moment the merger is inked, says Matthew Sunderman of HBR Consulting LLC.