A significant number of states prohibit or restrict the arbitration of disputes between an insurer and its policyholder and/or preclude the inclusion of arbitral provisions in insurance policies.The McCarran-Ferguson Act...more
On June 13, 2022, the FCC provided notice that the State of Florida has become the 24th state (including the District of Columbia) to certify state-level regulatory jurisdiction over rates, terms, and conditions for pole...more
Another Circuit Court Holds That the New York Convention Pre-empts State Laws Prohibiting Arbitration of Insurance Disputes - On August 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Article II, Section...more
For at least the past 20 years, Maine has capped interest rates for most closed-end unsecured loans at 30% for loans of $2,000 or less, and at 18% on loans of $4,000 or more. See, e.g., 9-A M.R.S.A. Sec. 2-401....more
In a case involving an arbitration agreement between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, which is governed by the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and its implementing legislation,...more
Battles persist concerning the enforceability of insurance policy arbitration clauses due to the conflict between (a) the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause (Art. VI, cl. 2), which gives federal laws and international...more
The End or the Beginning for Suits Over Disappointed Index Interest Expectations? Security Benefit Life Insurance Co. and Guggenheim Partners recently secured an important victory in a class action challenging a fixed...more
An interesting legal battle is playing out in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio over whether the City of Toledo’s establishment of a “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” passes constitutional muster. ...more
The United States Constitution, a U.S. treaty, two federal statutes, a state statute, and a commercial contract walk into a bar. The federal statutes are arguing. The Constitution, the treaty, one of the federal statutes, and...more
The Dodd-Frank Act provided the Federal Reserve Board with limited authority over certain insurance holding companies with federally regulated banking subsidiaries, creating some tension with the general rule, embodied in the...more
When the National Council of Insurance Legislators (“NCOIL”) holds its Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City later this week, it will consider a proposed resolution entitled the “Resolution Asserting McCarran-Ferguson Reverse...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last month, Westchester County became the second New York State municipality - and first county - to pass a mandatory paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinance is expected to take effect on or about March...more
Foresight Energy, LLC (“Foresight”) brought an action in Missouri state court against various domestic and Bermuda and London market insurers for declaratory judgment, breach of contract and statutory vexatious refusal to pay...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has found that Kentucky’s Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Law (IRLL) did not reverse-preempt the Federal Arbitration Act so as to prohibit the arbitration of a dispute when that...more
In this episode of OnRisk, Carolyn Branthoover and Sarah Turpin talk about the increasing frequency of arbitration clauses in insurance policies, the enforceability of arbitration agreements in both the U.S. and in the UK,...more
This case concerned a coverage dispute between Technical Security Integration Inc. and its insurer, Philadelphia Indemnity. The District Court for the District of Oregon denied Philadelphia Indemnity’s motion to compel...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cal/OSHA regulations are enforced by a state agency in administrative litigation. A new Supreme Court decision, Solus Industrial Innovations, Inc. v. Superior Court, allows employees allegedly suffering...more
The receiver for Gramercy Insurance Company sought to avoid arbitration of a reinsurance dispute with Contractor’s Bonding, Ltd., by arguing the FAA was reverse preempted under the McCarran-Ferguson Act....more
In a case involving a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA), a California trial court has examined the interplay between two seemingly irreconcilable contract provisions: one that provided for the arbitration of any...more
National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA provided Seneca Family of Agencies with workers’ compensation and employers’ liability insurance for Seneca’s operations in California from 2004 to 2013. The parties...more
The question presented to the Court was “whether federal law has opened the door for state law to ‘reverse preempt’ the diversity jurisdiction statute.” The McCarran-Ferguson Act was enacted by Congress to prevent federal...more
A recent ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals underscores the Federal Arbitration Act’s(“FAA”) strong policy favoring enforcement of arbitration agreements—even in the insurance industry and despite federal policy...more