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Insurance
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April 10, 2024
La. Top Court Asked To Hear Insurance Arbitration Questions
The Louisiana Supreme Court should examine the enforceability of arbitration clauses in certain insurance contracts as lawsuits seeking coverage for hurricane damage mount, a Louisiana district court said, certifying a series of questions to the state high court after the Fifth Circuit found they were enforceable.
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April 10, 2024
Milliman Tells Trial Judge It Has No Liability For 401(k) Losses
Milliman Inc. said its directors had a limited duty related to alleged risky investments in employee retirement plans because responsibilities were delegated to a committee, in response to the Seattle federal judge who questioned during a trial's closing arguments Wednesday why the board "really didn't do much of anything."
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April 10, 2024
Ex-Art Institutes Execs Want Insurers To Avert $336M Suit
Former executives of a holding company that bought now-defunct for-profit colleges Argosy University, South University and The Art Institutes asked an Ohio federal court to force excess insurers to settle receivership claims before the pair are formally accused of leaving a $336 million debt in their wake.
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April 10, 2024
Deported Man Can't Undo Fraud Conviction After Feds' Error
A deported Nigerian national who confessed to fraud on promises that prosecutors would submit a letter to immigration authorities supporting his deportation defense couldn't convince the Eighth Circuit to toss his guilty plea after prosecutors mistakenly disavowed the letter.
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April 10, 2024
Insurer Slams 'Price-Gouging' Doctor's COVID Billing Suit
Health plan administrator United Medical Resources Inc. fired back at a doctor's $783,000 suit claiming that he and his practice firms were shortchanged for COVID-19 testing services, with multiple counterclaims alleging that the doctor billed for unnecessary extra testing and put in claims for services that were never rendered.
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April 10, 2024
Honeywell Sues Insurer For $8.75M Performance Bond
A company that issued a $8.75 million performance bond is refusing to honor its deal with Honeywell International Inc. after a subcontractor declared bankruptcy and didn't finish its work at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, Honeywell claims in a suit filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court.
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April 10, 2024
'Let's Get Physical': Pa. Justices Tune In To COVID-19 Coverage
One of late singer Olivia Newton-John's greatest hits struck a chord with a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Wednesday as he considered whether insurers should cover business losses stemming from government shutdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic
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April 10, 2024
6th Circ. Says Firm Owes Insurer Part Of Defense Bill
A financial advisory firm's professional liability insurer had no duty to defend the company in underlying securities suits after underlying plaintiffs removed their common law violations, the Sixth Circuit ruled, further allowing the insurer to be reimbursed for some of its defense costs.
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April 10, 2024
NJ Law Firm Not Covered In Malpractice Suit, Insurer Says
A law firm in Princeton, New Jersey, is not owed coverage of a malpractice action alleging one of its attorneys misappropriated the assets of a client's husband, the firm's insurer argued, telling a federal court the firm knew of the underlying legal claims before its policy's inception.
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April 10, 2024
Feds Cleared To Use Undercover Recording In Atty's Tax Trial
Federal prosecutors trying an attorney next week on charges he orchestrated a tax fraud scheme that spanned seven states will be allowed to play for the jury an audio recording made by an undercover agent, a North Carolina federal judge ruled.
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April 10, 2024
Liberty Mutual Says Former Star Sales Rep Poached Clients
A former high-performing sales representative for a Liberty Mutual Group Inc. subsidiary violated nonsolicitation and nondisclosure agreements when he left to start his own competing agency, the insurer alleged in a Massachusetts state court complaint.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-Trump Finance Chief Weisselberg Jailed For Perjury
A New York state judge on Wednesday sentenced former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to five months in jail for lying under oath in the attorney general's civil fraud case against Donald Trump and his business associates, imprisoning a close ally of the former president on the eve of his hush-money trial.
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April 09, 2024
9th Circ. Says Hotel, Restaurant Virus Losses Not Covered
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday said two groups of Washington state restaurants and hotels can't claim COVID-related business losses under their insurance policies because they failed to show they physically lost functional use of their properties as a result of the virus.
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April 09, 2024
Insurers Can Expect Scrutiny Over AI Use, Pa. Agency Says
Pennsylvania insurers can expect to receive scrutiny over their use of artificial intelligence tools, the state's insurance department said in guidance that urges companies to take measures to minimize discrimination, inaccuracies and potential harms to consumers.
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April 09, 2024
Colo. Justices Doubt Workers' Comp Stops Insurance Suits
A Colorado Supreme Court justice expressed doubt Tuesday that lawmakers, in crafting Colorado's workers' compensation law, intended to make employees choose between getting workers' comp and suing their employer's auto insurer when injured on the job by an underinsured driver — tackling a question that has stymied the state's federal judiciary.
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April 09, 2024
4th Circ. Tosses Duty To Defend Case Over Oil Co.'s Objection
The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday that a West Virginia oil and gas company lacked standing to continue an appeal that was originally brought by a green grower, which had sought coverage from its insurer for an underlying $4 million land use dispute with the extractor.
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April 09, 2024
Trump Opposes NY Monitor Probe After Exec's Perjury
Attorneys for Donald Trump argued against allowing a court-appointed monitor of the Trump Organization to look into supposed discovery lapses in the New York attorney general's civil business fraud case related to a perjury plea by the company's former longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.
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April 09, 2024
Man Accused Of Vet Contractor Scheme Found In Contempt
A defendant in a long-running False Claims Act suit was found in contempt but dodged penalties in D.C. federal court on Tuesday as a trial over an alleged scheme to falsely procure government construction contracts meant for disabled veterans is set to begin next month.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-Frontier Communications CEO Gets $21.8M Placeholder
Frontier Communications must pay a $21.8 million litigation placeholder to ensure money is available to pay any future judgment in favor of its former CEO Leonard Tow in a feud over company-funded life insurance payments, a Connecticut Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday.
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April 09, 2024
Insurer Owes $2M For Loan Scheme, Financing Co. Says
An industrial financing company is seeking over $2 million in coverage after it alleged it was defrauded of over $4.5 million by an agricultural equipment company to which it provided millions in financing, telling an Arkansas federal court its insurer wrongfully denied coverage for the "dishonest acts."
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April 09, 2024
Embattled Houston Law Firm Files Ch. 11
Insurance law firm MMA Law Firm on Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court, weeks after a federal judge declined to toss a suit seeking class damages over the Houston firm's allegedly illegal efforts to solicit clients in hurricane-related property damage cases.
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April 08, 2024
Allstate Sues Ex-Agent For Post-Litigation 'Smear Campaign'
Allstate Insurance Co. has alleged in Colorado federal court that a former independent contractor it previously sued for allegedly stealing trade secrets has since launched an online "smear campaign" to spread false claims that the company is selling its customers' sensitive personal data to criminals and that it flouted a court order in the earlier suit by posting confidential deposition excerpts.
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April 08, 2024
Convicted CEO Wants Utility To Fund Defense Through Appeal
The former CEO of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative urged a federal judge on Monday to order the organization to cover his legal expenses while he appeals his conviction for stealing public funds and prepares for a trial in yet another criminal case.
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April 08, 2024
AIG Acted In Bad Faith In Hurricane Dispute, Homeowners Say
Owners of a $95 million oceanfront mansion near Miami told jurors Monday that AIG should be punished for acting in bad faith in handling a claim for damage from Hurricane Irma, saying the company repeatedly prioritized maximizing profits at the expense of customer service.
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April 08, 2024
Las Vegas Atty Killed In Murder-Suicide During Law Firm Depo
An attorney is suspected of fatally shooting prominent Las Vegas personal injury trial lawyer Dennis Prince and Prince's wife before killing himself in a targeted shooting during a deposition in a child custody battle at the Prince Law Group's offices Monday morning, according to the Las Vegas Police and media reports.
Expert Analysis
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4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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Mass. Dispute Highlights R&W Insurance Considerations
The progression of the litigation in a Massachusetts state court between pH Beauty and its representations and warranties insurers to the summary judgment stage offers rare insight into coverage disputes that can arise under such policies, including takeaways for buyers and sellers looking to procure adequate coverage for future transactions, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Opinion
3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point
The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
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Rethinking Mich. Slip-And-Fall Defense After Top Court Ruling
The Michigan Supreme Court recently overturned three decades of premises liability jurisprudence by ruling that the open and obvious danger defense is no longer part of a traditional duty analysis, posing the question of whether landowners will ever again win on a motion for summary dismissal, say John Stiglich and Meriam Choulagh at Wilson Elser.
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What To Know About Duty To Settle Insurance Claims In Texas
Laura Grabouski of Holden Litigation examines the parameters of Texas insurers' duty to settle liability claims within the limits of the primary policy, as knowledge of the requirements — and the potential exposure from insureds, judgment creditors or excess creditors — can pay dividends in the era of nuclear verdicts.
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Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
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Standing Issues Prevail In Wake Of Calif. Competition Ruling
Courts and litigants may grapple with uncertainty in the wake of the California Supreme Court's recent California Medical Association v. Aetna Health decision broadening standing to sue under the state's unfair competition law, and additional litigation will likely be required to develop its contours, say attorneys at Skadden.
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NY's Take On Premises Insurance Policies: What's In A Name?
A New York appellate court's recent decision in Wesco Insurance v. Fulmont Mutual Insurance — requiring insurance coverage for a property owner not named on the policy — strengthens a state case law trend creating a practical exception in premises liability cases to normally strict requirements for coverage, says Craig Rokuson at Traub Lieberman.
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Ga. Mirror-Image Rule Makes Settlements Fraught For Insurers
The Georgia Court of Appeals' recent decision in Pierce v. Banks shows how strictly Georgia courts will enforce the rule that an insurer's response to a settlement demand must be a mirror image of the demand — and is a reminder that parties must exercise caution when accepting such a demand, says Seth Friedman at Lewis Brisbois.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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What's In The NAIC's Draft AI Bulletin
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has released a draft bulletin on insurers' use of artificial intelligence systems, intended as a template for regulators to guide insurers to employ AI consistently with market conduct, corporate governance and unfair and deceptive trade practice laws, say Paige Waters and Stephanie O'Neill Macro at Locke Lord.
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Perspectives
A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial
Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory
Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.