Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications -
Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
10/11/2023
/ Annuities ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
No-Action Letters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Robocalling ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
A federal court recently agreed with Munich Re that it was not obligated to reimburse an insurer for losses and fees the insurer incurred in litigation with its professional liability carrier regarding a bad faith claim...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the New York Convention applies to an insurance arbitration dispute between a Puerto Rican company and Lloyd’s of London and that the convention preempts a Puerto Rican law...more
6/21/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
International Arbitration ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lloyds of London ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
New York Convention ,
Preemption ,
Puerto Rico
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
The D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a judgment in favor of reinsurers in a suit brought by an insured after concluding that the insured could not assert breach of contract and related claims against the reinsurers because the...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama recently predicted that the Alabama Supreme Court would refuse to recognize bad faith claims in the context of reinsurance disputes if it was presented with...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a reinsurer’s denial of a claim. The court disagreed with the reinsurer’s position than exhaustion language had not been satisfied, and found the...more
The Eastern District of California recently granted partial summary judgment to a class of plaintiffs suing a reinsurer and related entities with respect to a reinsurance arrangement regarding private mortgage insurance that...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas recently compelled arbitration against insurers but not brokers related to a commercial insurance dispute....more
6/19/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Lloyds of London ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Non-Signatories ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Unconscionable Contracts
The Second Circuit has reversed a $64 million judgment against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. in the latest ruling in a long-running dispute related to primary and excess policies that Utica Mutual Insurance Co. issued to a...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York recently denied an insurer’s attempt to compel the court to change a credibility decision it rendered following a bench trial in reinsurance litigation between...more
The Court of Appeals of Nebraska has affirmed the dismissal of a claim under a reinsurance participation agreement based on lack of personal jurisdiction....more
2/24/2020
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Forum Selection ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Participation Agreements ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Policy Terms ,
Reinsurance ,
Reinsurance Agreements
Recovering returns from reinsurance commissions can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor, at least when a former director of the agency that received the provisional commissions allegedly engages in a slew of activity to...more
A year ago, we wrote about a rapidly emerging area of insurance litigation in Connecticut: crumbling foundations. As a quick recap, tens of thousands of homes in northeastern Connecticut built over a span of more than 30...more
12/9/2019
/ Construction Defects ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Real Estate Market
In July 2018, we wrote about an interesting decision out of the Southern District of New York in which a court rejected a claim that an exclusion did not apply because a recycling bin on wheels was a “vehicle” under the...more
The Southern District of New York has concluded that an insurer’s threat to terminate a reinsurance agreement if the other insurer to the agreement did not comply with its obligations did not terminate the agreement or give...more
In a closely watched case, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales has given reinsurers a win with respect to reinsurance claims related to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases....more
6/4/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Asbestos ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Contract Terms ,
Good Faith ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Mesothelioma ,
Reinsurance ,
Reversal ,
Toxic Exposure ,
UK
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently denied attempts by reinsurers to avoid a suit by moving to have the claims against them dismissed or, in the alternative, seeking to compel arbitration or stay the...more
A New York Supreme Court recently explained the conditions that qualify and disqualify a proposed umpire. National Union Fire Insurance and Enstar could not agree on an umpire for their asbestos-claim-related arbitration. ...more
Don’t try to confirm an arbitration award when there is still arbitration work to be done. Relying on Seventh Circuit precedent, the Northern District of Illinois concluded that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to...more
A federal judge in Connecticut recently dismissed claims against insurers related to their denial of a claim by two homeowners whose home’s foundation was crumbling. The case, Hyde v. Allstate Ins. Co., No. 3:18-cv-00031 (D....more
A federal judge recently refused an insured’s attempt to escape a policy exclusion by contending that a large “storage bin” on wheels was a “vehicle” under an exception to the exclusion, which prohibited coverage for costs...more
A California jury recently returned a verdict in favor of MassMutual following a 12-day trial in a state-court class action that claimed the insurer failed to pay dividends owed to policy owners....more