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Washington Supreme Court: FAA Does Not Preempt State Law Prohibiting Arbitration Agreements in Insurance Contracts

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt a state statute that prohibits binding arbitration agreements in insurance contracts....more

Courts Take Divergent Positions on "Disparagement" Under Advertising Injury Coverage

Within the last four months, two divisions of the California Court of Appeal’s Second Appellate District have taken different positions on the requirements for “disparage,” as that term is used in commercial liability...more

Illinois Supreme Court Refuses to Invalidate Policy Deadline for Uninsured Motorist Claims

Can an insurance policy be rendered unenforceable by Illinois public policy because of a conflict with another state's law? This morning, in an opinion by Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier for a 6-1 majority, the Illinois...more

Federal District Court Holds Federal Law Preempts Massachusetts’ Statutory Limits On Mortgage Insurance

On September 21, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that the Federal Homeowners Loan Act preempted a Massachusetts law that forbids lenders from requiring borrowers to purchase insurance greater...more

Federal-Mogul Court Confirms That Bankruptcy Law Trumps Anti-Assignment Provisions in Insurance Policies

On May 1, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in In re Federal–Mogul Global, Inc. confirmed that anti-assignment provisions in a debtor’s insurance liability policies are preempted by the Bankruptcy...more

Fifth Circuit Rejects Expansive Reading of Texas Law Regarding an Insured’s Right to Independent Counsel

Under Texas law, “when the facts to be adjudicated in [a] liability lawsuit are the same facts upon which coverage depends, the conflict of interest will prevent the insurer from conducting the defense.” N. Cnty. Mut. Ins....more

State Claims Related to Renewal of FEMA "Write Your Own" Floor Insurance Programs are Federally Preempted

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last week held that any state claim related to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) “Write Your Own” (WYO) flood insurance program is preempted by federal law if it...more

"The Termination Provision in Fidelity Insurance Policies: Practitioners Discuss a Split in Authority"

The Capital Bank & Trust decision enforcing a fidelity bond's termination provision reflects the majority rule that there is no fidelity coverage for loss from an employee's acts when the employer knows in advance of the loss...more

Do the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law Go Too Far in Protecting the Policyholder?

The objective of this article is to analyse the PEICL with respect to the question of whether the policyholder is protected too radically, studying the differences of the PEICL from the regulation of insurance contracts in...more

Significance of the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law for the pre-contractual information duty: Experience of the...

The provision of cross-border insurance services to consumers in the European Union is problematical as the existence of 27 different contract laws both complicates the cross-border activity and renders it expensive. The...more

Ninth Circuit Holds Medicare Act’s Exhaustion Requirements And Preemption Provision Bar Plaintiffs’ Common Law Claims

At long last, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its second opinion in the Uhm v. Humana, Inc., -- F.3d -- (9th Cir. 2010), matter, which found the Medicare Act's exhaustion requirements and preemption provision barred...more

United States' Amicus Brief Argues Medicare Act Preempts Statutory Consumer Protection and State Common Law Claims

Since January 1, 2006, Part D of the Medicare Act has provided Medicare beneficiaries with an elective prescription drug benefit option. Under Part D, benefits are administered to beneficiaries through private health...more

Maryland Casualty Co. v. W.R. Grace & Co., Inc.--Conn.

Memorandum of Law of W.R. Grace & Co.--Conn. in Support of Its Motion for Relief From the Court's Earlier Ruling on Choice of Law

Defendant W. R. Grace & Co.--Conn. (“Grace”) submits this Memorandum of Law in support of its motion for relief from the Court's previous choice of law determination, based on the Court's inherent authority to modify an...more

Maryland Casualty Co. v. W.R. Grace & Co. -- Conn.

Memorandum of Law of W.R. Grace & Co. -- Conn. in Support of its Motion for Relief From the Court's Earlier Ruling on Choice of...

A brief submitted in a complex toxic tort insurance coverage case urging the court to employ its discretion and decline to rely on the law of the case doctrine and to revisit an earlier ruling as to choice of law in light of...more

New York's Choice of Law Doctrine in Coverage Cases is Moving Inexorably Toward the Site-Specific Approach

Published in Mealey's Litigation Report -- Insurance...more