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Mealey's Reinsurance

  • July 28, 2025

    U.S. Tax Court Clarifies, Maintains Ruling In Favor Of IRS In Microcaptive Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Stating that “the Court failed to fully clarify two important issues” in a March opinion, a U.S. Tax Court judge issued a supplemental memorandum opinion in a consolidated case maintaining that a purported captive insurance arrangement could not exclude premiums from income during the 2015 and 2016 tax years because it is not considered insurance and that it must recognize $781,977 in income for the 2015 tax year because the provisions allowing deferral of unearned premiums do not apply to entities that are not insurance companies.

  • July 28, 2025

    Financer Appeals Intervention Denial To 7th Circuit In Reinsurance Dispute

    CHICAGO — A vehicle service contract financer appealed to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after an Illinois federal judge denied its motion to intervene in a reinsurance dispute between an insurer and reinsurer, with the judge saying the financer lacked a “legally protectable interest to intervene as of right” and was not a necessary party to the litigation, which it sought to dismiss.

  • July 25, 2025

    Calif. Judge Grants Commissioner’s Demurrer As To 2 Claims In Pass-Through Row

    LOS ANGELES — Holding that California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara acted within his authority to issue property insurance pass-throughs but determining that exhausting administrative remedies was not necessary for judicial review, a California judge partially sustained and partially overruled Lara’s demurrer in response to a consumer research and advocacy organization’s complaint that accused Lara of issuing two unlawful insurance bulletins that authorize member insurers of the California FAIR Plan to recoup assessments from policyholders.

  • July 25, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Ruling For IRS In Tax Row Over Purported Microcaptives

    NEW ORLEANS — Upholding a ruling for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in a federal tax dispute over purported microcaptive insurance arrangements, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals interpreted part of the Internal Revenue Code “to determine when supervisory approval was required, an issue of first impression in this circuit.”

  • July 24, 2025

    California Court OKs Publishing Ruling Re Rehab Plan For Workers’ Comp Insurer

    SAN FRANCISCO — The First District California Court of Appeal on July 23 granted a request for publication of an initially unpublished opinion upholding a nonconsensual rehabilitation plan for a workers’ compensation insurance carrier; the plan was approved as part of conservation proceedings brought by California’s insurance regulator and includes options to resolve dozens of reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) lawsuits.

  • July 24, 2025

    Vendor Dismisses Insurer From Breach Of Contract Claim; 1 Defendant Remains

    NEW YORK — The plaintiffs in dispute involving reinsurance and a warehouse in Afghanistan filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in a federal court in New York, dismissing its breach of contract claim against an insurer; the dismissal is without prejudice with each party to bear their own attorney fees and costs.

  • July 23, 2025

    PHL Rehabilitator Requests Moratorium Order Modification, Cites ‘Financial Strain’

    WATERBURY. Conn. — Stating that a moratorium order that affects payments of benefits or investment obligations for policies issued by PHL Variable Insurance Co. “may present financial strain on certain policyholders,” the insurer’s rehabilitator filed a motion on July 22 to modify the order in a Connecticut court, seeking to allow eligible holders of nonvariable universal life policies alternative options for the full cost of insurance or premium charges, and enable fixed indexed annuity holders to access part of their account value.

  • July 23, 2025

    Interlocutory Appeal Certified On Standing In PRT Case That Survived Dismissal

    GREENBELT, Md. — Part of a key ruling in a putative class lawsuit that is part of a much-watched recent string of Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) is headed to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after a Maryland federal judge on July 22 granted an opposed motion to certify for interlocutory appeal.

  • July 23, 2025

    Federal Judge Dismisses Purchaser’s Suit Over Forced Deal Involving Reinsurer

    NEW YORK — Finding in part that a claim asserted under the Securities Exchange Act “may be domestic but is so predominantly foreign as to be extraterritorial,” a New York federal judge dismissed federal securities claims with prejudice and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state fraud and breach of contract claims in an insurer’s suit over its forced April 2024 purchase of the equity of reinsurer JRG Reinsurance Co. Ltd.

  • July 22, 2025

    Businessman Argues Guaranty Is Void, Moves To Dismiss Breach Of Contract Suit

    NEW YORK — A Florida businessman seeks dismissal in a federal court in New York of a  reinsurer’s breach of contract complaint relating to a personal guaranty agreement on a defaulted $34.4 million loan, arguing that the guaranty lacks consideration and violates the statute of frauds, qualifying the agreement as a “gratuitous promise” and rendering it unenforceable.

  • July 18, 2025

    Government Seeks Dismissal Of Captive Insurance Refund Dispute For Improper Venue

    TULSA, Okla. — Arguing that the action was filed in an improper judicial circuit and inconsistent with principal place of business evidence, the U.S. government moved to dismiss a complaint filed in a federal court in Oklahoma by the owners of a steel building manufacturer who claim that the Internal Revenue Service improperly disallowed a legitimate business expense related to a captive reinsurance arrangement.

  • July 17, 2025

    Dismissal Bid Briefed In Suit Involving Lack Of Federal Reinsurance Coverage

    BAY CITY, Mich. — Asserting arguments on issues including res judicata and statutes of limitations, an insurer that issued dairy revenue protection (DRP) coverage has filed a reply brief in its suit for compensatory damages for losses it reports incurring “due to the loss of reinsurance” it attributes to “the acts, errors, and omissions of” an insurance agency and the agency’s employee.

  • July 16, 2025

    Settlement Approved Between Receiver Of Liquidated Reinsurer And Long-Serving TPA

    WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Chancery Court approved a settlement between the receiver for life and health reinsurer Scottish Re (U.S.) Inc. (SRUS) and its third-party administrator (TPA), which had sought to terminate its service agreement with SRUS.  Under the settlement, the parties agree to terminate the disputed administrative services agreement (ASA), and SRUS will waive claims centered on reimbursement disagreements.

  • July 16, 2025

    Captive Insurance Owners, Government Stipulate To Dismissal In Deduction Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal tax refund complaint centered on disallowed deductions for insurance premiums paid to a captive insurance company was dismissed with prejudice on July 15 after a pair of individuals and the government stipulated to dismissal.

  • July 16, 2025

    U.S., Former Execs Brief 2nd Circuit Cross-Appeals In Securities Fraud Case

    NEW YORK — Wrapping up briefing in consolidated cross-appeals in a securities fraud case, the federal government urged the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse certain judgments in the long-running litigation and order resentencing for all three former hedge fund executives whom federal juries convicted in connection with the so-called “Black Elk” scheme that involved reinsurers.

  • July 15, 2025

    PHL Rehabilitator To Propose Moratorium Modifications Before End Of July

    WATERBURY, Conn. — In a supplement to his second accounting and status report, the rehabilitator of PHL Variable Insurance Co. told a Connecticut court that by the end of July, he intends to file a motion to modify a moratorium order that affects payments of benefits or investment obligations for policies issued by PHL.

  • July 14, 2025

    General Agent’s Consolidation Bid Nixed In Fronting Arrangement Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge denied a managing general agent’s (MGA) motion to consolidate a case centered on a disputed fronting agreement with a “Sister Lawsuit,” calling the request premature due to a pending motion to dismiss in the related action.

  • July 14, 2025

    Oral Argument Set In Appeal On Good Farming Practices Crop Insurance Determination

    NEW ORLEANS — Oral argument is scheduled for Aug. 5 in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an appeal filed by a peanut and cotton farmer seeking reversal of a summary judgment ruling, which held that federal regulators implemented proper standards and correctly considered expert testimony in concluding that the farmer failed to follow good farming practices (GFP) for crop insurance coverage purposes.

  • July 10, 2025

    Steel Firm Seeks Tax Refund From IRS Over Captive Reinsurance Disallowance

    TULSA, Okla. — The owners of a steel building manufacturer in a complaint filed in a federal court in Oklahoma seeking to recover a federal income tax for a payment they allege was erroneously assessed and collected for the 2018 tax year, claiming that the Internal Revenue Service improperly disallowed a legitimate business expense related to a captive reinsurance arrangement facilitated through a third-party insurance provider.

  • July 03, 2025

    Ghanaian Insurer Sends Letters Rogatory In Reinsurance Breach Of Contract Row

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on July 2 directed the issuance of letters rogatory to a Ghanaian insurer and three of its employees to acquire otherwise unobtainable information as part of a gold mining equipment dispute over whether the defendants are direct insurers or reinsurers of the plaintiffs.

  • July 03, 2025

    Judge: Reinsurer Failed To Meet Burden Of Proof In Motion For Partial Judgment

    FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas federal judge denied a reinsurer’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings for claims brought by National Transportation Associates Inc. (NTA) concerning a dispute over whether contractual mandates issued by California and other states render a commission payment structure unenforceable; the case is part of broader consolidated litigation among reinsurers and NTA that centers on the reinsurers’ claims of inflated provisional commissions and breach of various agreements.

  • July 03, 2025

    Dismissal Stipulated In Coverage Dispute Over Loss Of Patent Litigation Counsel

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An inventor, his Colorado-based company and a captive insurer filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in a Tennessee federal court, resolving and dismissing with prejudice all claims asserted in a case concerning a coverage dispute over loss of patent litigation counsel.

  • July 02, 2025

    Reinsurer Moves To Seal Cross-Motion To Confirm Confidential Arbitration Award

    NEW YORK — A reinsurer asked a New York federal court to seal portions of its cross-motion to confirm a confidential arbitration award it won against a food processing company concerning a poultry rendering facility fire and subsequent reinsurance dispute due to a confidentiality agreement between the parties; the food processing company’s petition and documents in support were previously sealed in this case.

  • July 01, 2025

    California Appellate Court Lets Rehab Plan For Workers’ Comp Insurer Stand

    SAN FRANCISCO — In an unpublished opinion, the First District California Court of Appeal upheld a nonconsensual rehabilitation plan for a workers’ compensation insurance carrier; the plan was approved as part of conservation proceedings brought by California’s insurance regulator and includes options to resolve dozens of reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) lawsuits.

  • July 01, 2025

    Oral Argument Set In Federal Circuit For ACA Reinsurance Takings Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oral argument is scheduled for July 9 in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an appeal by two self-insured group health plan trusts challenging a U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruling that found they failed to establish a property appropriation by the federal government in a lawsuit over the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).