More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
A Michigan federal court declined to bifurcate a case involving a contract dispute between a ceding insurer, Amerisure, and its reinsurer, Transatlantic Re, in a case arising from underlying asbestos claims dating back to the...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a colorful opinion in a property insurance coverage dispute affirming a denial of coverage for loss arising out of an illicit marijuana growing operation in Michigan. The case is...more
10/8/2018
/ Appeals ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Third-Party Criminal Acts
In Excess Insurance Co. Ltd. v Factory Mutual Insurance Co., 3 NY3d 577 (N.Y. 2004), New York’s high court held that, under a facultative reinsurance agreement, the reinsurer’s liability was limited to a per occurrence cap,...more
In Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid, Inc., No. 15-1351P2-01A (1st Cir. Nov. 15, 2017), the First Circuit Court of Appeals ended long-running insurance coverage litigation arising from policyholder VisionAid, Inc.’s...more
12/14/2017
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Practices Liability Coverage ,
Indemnification ,
Independent Counsel ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court
Texas homeowners Joe and Stacci Key sued their roofer, Lon Smith Roofing Contractors (“LSRC”), alleging LSRC violated the Texas Insurance Code by acting as an unlicensed public insurance adjustor. The trial court granted...more
8/29/2017
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Insurance Adjusters ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Code ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Severe Weather
The FBI continues to warn that losses are on the rise from business email compromise (BEC) or “social engineering” schemes, which the Bureau describes as:
Carried out by transnational criminal organizations that employ...more
8/15/2017
/ Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC) ,
Computer Fraud Insurance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Social Engineering
Banks have historically been at the forefront of technological advances in commerce. So it should be no surprise that they and other financial institutions were also among the first to suffer losses related to computer fraud...more
Connecticut’s intermediate appellate court addressed a number of novel issues in a wide-ranging opinion regarding primary and excess insurers’ respective duties to defend and indemnify their common insured for long-tail...more
A homeowners insurance policy often covers every member of a family, and many policies state that the insurance applies separately to each insured. The same policies usually exclude coverage for intentional acts. But what...more
12/20/2016
/ Auto Insurance ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
Indemnification ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Murder ,
Negligent Entrustment ,
Negligent Supervision ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Insurance ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
Wrongful Death
The named plaintiff in Soseeah v. Sentry Insurance had a Sentry auto policy. She declined UM/UIM coverage when she initially purchased her policy, and renewed annually thereafter. In 2010, the New Mexico Supreme Court held,...more
As we reported in this space late last year, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740, 1745 (2011), tilted the scales toward federal power in the field of arbitration, preempting...more
10/19/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
AT&T Mobility ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Bad Faith ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS
In This Issue:
- IN THE SPOTLIGHT
• Risky Business: Common Cyber Security Risks, Expensive Consequences
- LIFE INSURANCE
• Ninth Circuit Finds Bonus Indexed Annuity Delivers Exactly...more
6/26/2015
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Annuities ,
Bad Faith ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Captive Insurance Company ,
Consumer Financial Contracts ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Cybersecurity ,
Debt Collection ,
Disability Benefits ,
Drones ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FCC ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Patents ,
RICO ,
SAR ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Telemedicine ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Variable Annuities ,
Virtual Currency
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that Texas law allows an indemnity agreement to insulate a party from the consequences of its own, allegedly negligent conduct, but only if that feature...more