Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications -
Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
10/11/2023
/ Annuities ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
No-Action Letters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Robocalling ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
This past May, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of a life insurance company, finding that California’s lapse statute applies only to life insurance...more
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
In our May 2021 issue, we discussed the rise in life insurance policy lapse notice cases in California following the state’s 2013 enactment of California Insurance Code sections 10113.71 and 10113.72. These statutes establish...more
On April 13, 2021, we reported on a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama that dismissed a portion of a complaint brought by cedent Alabama Municipal Insurance Corp. (AMIC) for bad faith...more
In the first half of 2020, two decisions were issued by federal appellate courts related to the lapse of life insurance policies. Both decisions affirmed the insurer’s position and rejected challenges to the determination of...more
A patient sued her health plan and the plan’s debt collector under various California and federal laws in connection with alleged attempts by the plan to unlawfully collect the balances of the plaintiff’s medical statements...more
2/21/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Arbitration ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Billing Rates ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Fee-Splitting ,
Health Insurance ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Kaiser Permanente ,
Medical Expenses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
State Health Plans ,
Unconscionable Contracts
We previously posted about the yearslong reinsurance dispute between Utica Mutual Insurance Co. (the cedent) and Century Indemnity Co. (the reinsurer), involving Utica’s claims that Century breached two reinsurance...more
1/31/2020
/ Allocation Statistics ,
Asbestos ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Terms ,
Follow-the-Fortunes Clause ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reinsurance ,
Reinsurance Agreements ,
Settlement
The plaintiffs, U.S. Fire Insurance Co. and North River Insurance Co., issued 12 umbrella and excess umbrella liability policies for a combined coverage of $244 million to a manufacturer of respiratory protection equipment...more
11/26/2019
/ Asbestos ,
Breach of Contract ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Excess Policies ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability Insurance ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pending Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Reimbursements ,
Reinsurance ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Stays ,
Umbrella Policies
The case involved a “second layer special casualty excess agreement of reinsurance” under which reinsurers General Reinsurance Corp. and SCOR Reinsurance Co. agreed to cover a certain amount in excess of Chicago Insurance...more
11/13/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Arbitrators ,
Asbestos ,
Billing ,
Contract Terms ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability Insurance ,
Loss Allocation ,
Reinsurance ,
Stays
Recent decisions provide worthwhile guidance for insurers handling slayer claims.
According to traditional inheritance law, a “slayer” is one who intentionally kills, or conspires to kill, feloniously or unjustifiably,...more
10/11/2019
/ Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Death Benefits ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Interpleaders ,
Life Insurance ,
Murder ,
Policy Terms ,
Slayer Statutes ,
Spouses ,
Summary Judgment
We have been tracking an ongoing reinsurance matter in which Odyssey Reinsurance Co. obtained a $3.2 million default judgment against Cal-Regent Insurance Services Corp. and Pacific Brokers Insurance Services (PBIS) as a...more
7/23/2019
/ Alter Ego ,
Creditors ,
Default Judgment ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Reinsurance ,
Sale of Assets ,
Sales Commissions ,
Successor Liability ,
Summary Judgment ,
UFTA
In Smith v. Jackson National Life Insurance Co., a beneficiary of a life insurance policy that lapsed prior to the death of the insured sued Jackson National for failing to provide sufficient notice of termination and...more
We have been tracking Odyssey Reinsurance’s action to collect a $3.2 million judgment against Richard and Diane Nagby, the owners of two companies involved in an alleged fraudulent transfer scheme. ...more
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales approved the judgment of the trial court in a reinsurance dispute between Axa and Arab Insurance Group (Arig) related to certain insured energy construction risks. The trial court had...more
On July 21, 2016, we reported on a putative class action filed in a California U.S. district court by Shasta Linen Company against Applied Underwriters, Inc. and its affiliate entities, alleging that the “EquityComp” workers’...more
Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company appealed from the denial of its motion to compel arbitration in a dispute related to a reinsurance participation contract with South Jersey Sanitation Company. The trial...more
11/29/2016
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Reinsurance
Increasingly aggressive and adversarial examinations by state regulators can expose insurers to troubling evidentiary issues in subsequent individual and class action litigation. Plaintiffs’ counsel may seek to admit into...more
In the ongoing reinsurance dispute between cedent Utica Mutual Insurance Company and reinsurer Clearwater Insurance Company, about which we most recently posted on February 9, 2016, two developments occurred on July 14, 2016....more
We previously reported on reinsurance litigation in Connecticut federal court between Travelers Indemnity Co. and Excalibur Reinsurance Corp, which the parties settled in May 2014. See prior post dated July 31, 2014. A year...more
The court considered the various privilege assertions of both the insurers (plaintiffs) and the insureds (defendants) in a multi-insurer insurance litigation. In analyzing varying categories of documents, including subsets of...more
In a construction loss coverage litigation brought by Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) against its builders risk insurer, Travelers Property Casualty Company, IAA unsuccessfully attempted to issue a subpoena to...more
On November 18, 2014, we reported on the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Pine Top Receivables of Illinois, LLC v. Banco de Seguros del Estado, in which Pine Top claimed that Banco de Seguros owed it $2,352,464.08 under certain...more
The judgment was entered in a class action by plaintiffs who lost their tuition payments for computer training programs at schools that abruptly closed in 2009. In attempting to collect on the judgment, plaintiffs served...more
The trial court had granted the motion to compel arbitration of Flintkote Company against one of its asbestos liability insurers, Aviva PLC, despite the fact that Aviva was a non-signatory to the subject Alternative Dispute...more