Beyond International, Inc. and an individual (“Beyond”) appealed the district court’s order granting plaintiffs’ motion to confirm an arbitration award in favor of Diverse Enterprises, Ltd., Co., LLC and other parties...more
The court considered a restaurant franchisee’s motion to compel arbitration, and motion to dismiss, or, in the alternative, stay an employee’s race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit pending the completion of arbitration....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
The case was brought by Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle David Lane Johnson against the NFL Players Association, the NFL, and the NFL Management Council related to a 10-game suspension for using performance-enhancing...more
The delegation clause in the parties’ arbitration agreement provided that any “questions regarding the validity or enforcement of these Dispute Policies shall be delegated and submitted to the arbitrator, including whether...more
Introduction -
As we head to print on the ninth annual Carlton Fields Class Action Survey, the unprecedented COVID-19 health and related economic crisis has wrought permanent change to business practices worldwide. There...more
The arbitration awards involved several agreements for the sale, lease, and maintenance of Imax theater systems in South and Central America and the Caribbean. The arbitral tribunal issued a partial final award, and then...more
Seven plaintiffs filed a putative class action against a car rental company and its subsidiary for allegedly unauthorized charges incurred when the plaintiffs rented cars from the company....more
A former executive and in-house lawyer for the Miami Heat basketball franchise sued the team for allegedly violating her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act when she was terminated from her employment. ...more
A construction company, Parkerson Construction LLC, sued homeowner Jeanne Lacy Oaks claiming that Oaks owed it more than $50,000 for construction work on her home. ...more
Like companies in other industries, life, annuity, and securities companies and their affiliates have faced class actions asserting claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act....more
The case relates to the disposition of accrued vacation time of unionized nurses after a new employer (Prospect) assumed a collective bargaining agreement. Prospect construed the collective bargaining agreement differently...more
The dispute involved the potential trade-in of a car and the purchase of a pickup truck by two customers at a car dealership. During the course of the transaction, one of the customers signed a document that he later learned...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 dispute involved an arbitration related to alleged medical malpractice by doctors selected by Carnival Cruise Lines to treat a wrist injury of a Serbian employee of Carnival. The employee’s employment agreement with...more
12/19/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Carnival Cruise Lines ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Contract Terms ,
Cruise Ships ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Forum Selection ,
International Arbitration ,
Jones Act ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Medical Malpractice ,
Motion to Vacate ,
New York Convention ,
Panama ,
Public Policy ,
Vicarious Liability
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
The dispute involved a long-term health care provider and an assisted living services provider that was based in the same building. The union represented certain housekeeping employees at the location. The long-term health...more
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
The court granted Aetna’s motion to compel arbitration of a former employee’s age and disability wrongful termination claims that alleged violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities...more
9/28/2019
/ ADEA ,
Aetna ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Clickwrap Agreements ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Motion to Compel ,
Stock Options ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Websites
Plaintiff Choice Hotels International Inc. filed an application to confirm arbitration award and a motion for default judgment against a fanchisee company and its owner in connection with an arbitration initiated before the...more
9/4/2019
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Breach of Contract ,
Default Judgment ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Royalties
We have been tracking certain class actions filed against Applied Underwriters, Inc. and Applied Risk Services, Inc. alleging that the companies fraudulently marketed and sold workers’ compensation insurance programs to...more
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