News & Analysis as of

Life Insurance Appeals

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Value of Stock Included Life Insurance Proceeds Intended for Redemption of Stock

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the decision in Connelly vs. United States, holding that the fair market value of stock in a closely-held corporation, for purposes of valuing that stock held by a...more

ArentFox Schiff

Georgia Supreme Court Holds Life Insurance Policies Taken Out With Intent to Sell are Lawful

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On October 25, 2022, the Supreme Court of Georgia answered a certified question from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concerning Georgia’s insurable interest statute, OCGA § 33-24-3 (1995)....more

Rumberger | Kirk

McHugh, Thomas, and the Long-Term Risk of California Insurance Code Sections 10113.71 and 10113.72

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In 2012, the California Legisla­ture enacted changes to the California Insurance Code that provide protections intended to shield consumers from los­ing life insurance coverage due to late or missed insurance premium...more

Carlton Fields

Universal Life Policyowner Not Entitled to Pro Rata Premium Refund Following Insured’s Death

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Insured’s annual planned premium did not implicate New York statute requiring refund of premium “actually paid for any period” beyond an insured’s death....more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

2021 Arkansas Insurance Legislation Summary: Act 925 Prohibits Life Insurance/Annuity Beneficiary Change through Will

In a surprising move, the Arkansas General Assembly overrode long-standing Arkansas common law that permits an insured to change a beneficiary of an insurance policy via will. On April 26, 2021, Governor Asa Hutchison signed...more

Carlton Fields

Life Insurer Has No Duty to Investigate Forged Policy Change Form

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The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the insurer where it paid a death benefit to the person whose name appeared on a change form, notwithstanding suggestions of fraud....more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - The LHD/ERISA Advisor

The LHD/ERISA Advisor - October 2020

As we enter the final months of 2020, this is a time to reflect on a year of unprecedented challenges. Although Covid-19 changed our lives in many ways, it did not halt new legal developments in the life, health and...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - The LHD/ERISA Advisor

The LHD/ERISA Advisor - October 2020: Second Circuit Allows Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim to Proceed Based on Misrepresentation...

In Sullivan-Mestecky v. Verizon Communs. Inc., 961 F.3d 91 (2d Cir. 2020), the Second Circuit held that a claim under Section 502(a)(3) of ERISA could proceed, where the beneficiary pled that the plan and its agents...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - The LHD/ERISA Advisor

The LHD/ERISA Advisor: Ninth Circuit Rules Coverage under ERISA Disability Plan Excluded Due to Underlying Medical Condition

In Estate of Maurice v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 792 Fed. Appx. 499 (9th Cir. Cal. Feb. 5, 2020), the Ninth Circuit held that coverage was excluded under an ERISA-governed disability plan ("Plan"), because the evidence in the...more

Carlton Fields

No Saving Grace for Policyholders

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In McHugh v. Protective Life Insurance, the California Court of Appeal held that a statute requiring 60-day grace periods for term life insurance policies did not apply retroactively. ...more

Carlton Fields

Defendants Fend Off Challenge to FIA’s Proprietary Index

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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

Carlton Fields

Supreme Court Casts a Wide Net with Rule 10b-5

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The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that someone doesn’t need to have “made” a false or misleading statement to have primary liability under the securities fraud rules. ...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

New Jersey Supreme Court Rules on Insurable Interest and Return of Premiums

On June 4, 2019, in a case captioned Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the Supreme Court of New Jersey answered two questions certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third...more

Carlton Fields

Life Insurer Permitted to Adjust Policy Proceeds Pursuant to Misstatement-of-Age Provision

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In Jackson National Life Insurance Co. v. Dobbins, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for an insurer in an interpleader action, which resolved, among other things,...more

Mayer Brown

Sixth Circuit Invalidates Tennessee’s Punitive-Damages Cap and Holds That Punitive Damages Are Available Under Tennessee Law For...

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Should divided panels of federal appellate courts really be deciding state-law issues of first impression? That’s what happened last month in Lindenberg v. Jackson National Life Insurance Co. In Lindenberg, two Sixth Circuit...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Sixth Circuit Rules That Tennessee Cap on Punitive Damages Is Unconstitutional

In 2011, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act, a tort reform measure limiting monetary damages. Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-104. This law places a cap on punitive damages of two times the...more

Baker Donelson

U.S. Court of Appeals Declares Tennessee Punitive Damages Cap Unconstitutional | Part 1: The Lindenberg Decision

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In mid-December 2018, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Tennessee's statutory cap on punitive damages violates the right to trial by jury under the Tennessee Constitution. The case...more

Robinson+Cole ERISA Claim Defense Blog

Sixth Circuit Finds No Fiduciary Duty To Give Notice Of Conversion/Portability Rights On Termination Of Employment

In Vest v. Resolute FP US, Inc., 905 F.3d 985 (6th Cir. 2018), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of a claim by the beneficiary of a deceased employee that the employer breached its fiduciary duty under ERISA...more

Cozen O'Connor

Fort Worth Court of Appeal Reverses Judgment Awarding Bad Faith Damages Against Insurer

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While the November 8, 2018 Court of Appeal of Texas, Fort Worth Division opinion reverses a trial court’s judgment on grounds of legal insufficiency and standing, the court’s analysis and application of current Texas bad...more

Carlton Fields

Louisiana Appeals Court Affirms Class Certification in Lingering Litigation Against Department of Insurance

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A Louisiana appeals court recently affirmed class certification in consolidated lawsuits, pending since 1991, against Louisiana’s Department of Insurance, other related state entities, and the state’s excess insurance...more

Carlton Fields

Reinsurer’s Summary Judgment Upheld On Motion For Rehearing

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Capitol Life Insurance Co. moved the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas for rehearing of the court’s prior affirmance of summary judgment against Capitol in favor of MetLife Insurance Company USA, MetLife...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Ontario Court of Appeal Certifies Class Action Against Sun Life

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On September 5, 2018, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Fehr v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, overturning certain parts of the motion judge’s decision and certifying a class action against Sun Life...more

Downey Brand LLP

Don’t Let Time Run Out on Updating Your Life Insurance Beneficiaries

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Your ex-spouse may take under your life insurance policy if you do not change your beneficiaries and there’s nothing a California probate court can do about it.  So ruled the Court of Appeal last month in Estate of Post...more

Carlton Fields

Plaintiffs’ Notice That the ‘Taxman Cometh’ Was Sufficient to Trigger Statute of Limitations

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In a November 16, 2017 ruling, a California appellate court affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of several financial advisors, and insurer American General Life Insurance Company, holding that plaintiffs’ fraud and...more

Carlton Fields

Illinois Federal Court Rejects Twin Suits Challenging Dividend Payment Practices

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Challenges to mutual life insurers’ discretion in setting dividend scales date back over 100 years. Earlier this year, in Anderson v. Country Life Insurance Company and Ochoa v. State Farm Life Insurance Company, a federal...more

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