In This Issue:

- CONNECTICUT AUTO BODY SHOPS AWARDED MILLIONS IN CONNECTICUT UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES ACT CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE HARTFORD:

In a closely-watched Connecticut state court action that has dragged on for almost ten years, on June 5, Waterbury Superior Court Judge Alfred Jennings ordered The Hartford to pay $20 million in punitive damages to a class of auto body shops, finding that the insurer had “knowinglyand purposefully” violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act...

- CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE WHETHER INSURERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE CALIFORNIA UNFAIR COMPETITION LAW:

In early May, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in Zhang v. Superior Court. The case will likely resolve a significant issue for insurers doing business in California – are they potentially subject to a private action under the California Unfair Competition law (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §17200) for conduct that violates California’s Unfair Insurance Practices Act (Cal. Ins. Code §790 et seq.)...

- HEALTH INSURERS IN RHODE ISLAND AND WESTERN NEW YORK SUED BY PROVIDERS FOR ALLEGED ANTITRUST VIOLATIONS:

In the last two months, two new antitrust actions have been filed against health insurers that raise interesting issues about an insurer’s obligation to contract with a health care provider that it chooses not to deal with, and whether a refusal to do so can give rise to antitrust liability...

- ITALIAN AUTO INSURERS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR POTENTIAL ANTITRUST VIOLATIONS:

On June 12, the Italian Antitrust Authority announced that it was commencing an investigation into possible price fixing conduct by a collection of Italian auto insurers...