What constitutes valid consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act? A hot issue in TCPA litigation is the scope of consent necessary to place automated calls to consumers where the consumer has provided a cell phone...more
Insurance companies are increasingly the subject of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits. Any insurance company that communicates with its customers, job applicants, and others by phone or text using an automated...more
High-dollar settlements of class actions filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act appear to have prompted the filing of a record number of new TCPA cases in federal courts nationwide. In the largest TCPA settlement...more
In an opinion filed August 5, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal held that Florida’s unclaimed property law does not make life insurance proceeds due and payable at the time of the insured’s death and does not impose an...more
In a recently issued notice of rulemaking, the Idaho State Treasurer’s Office has proposed a temporary rule that, if permanently adopted, would alter two key definitional provisions in the state’s unclaimed property laws...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has confirmed that proof of death is a reasonable requirement for payment under a life insurance policy, and is a prerequisite to monies becoming “payable” under unclaimed...more
Amidst ongoing multistate unclaimed property audits of many life insurers, and despite many regulatory settlements, the insurance industry and state regulators continue to disagree over the application of unclaimed property...more
One of the hot issues in pending litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is whether a consumer can revoke consent to receive calls on a cell phone. A number of courts have recently held that a consumer...more
In a class action challenging a cost of insurance (COI) rate increase, a New York federal district court has stated that an insurer may only consider factors specifically enumerated in the policy when raising COI rates on a...more
On March 25, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its second report on payday lending. This report followed a white paper on payday lending and deposit advance products that the CFPB issued in April...more
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Technical Information Service (NTIS) put into effect a certification program required for any person or entity seeking to access information during the three-year period...more
Early 2014 has produced a series of court decisions highlighting third-party liability issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In February, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case about liability for...more
On Friday, March 7, 2014, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) Unclaimed Property Task Force (Task Force) met in-person at NCOIL’s spring meeting. Led by the Task Force’s Co-Chair George Keiser (ND), the...more
In Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, the U.S. Supreme Court held on February 26, 2014, that the victims of Allen Stanford’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme can proceed with their claims against law firms, insurance brokers,...more
On Monday, February 17, 2014, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) Unclaimed Property Task Force (Task Force) conducted its first conference call. Co-chaired by two past NCOIL presidents, Representatives...more
In a substantial victory for the life insurance industry on the unclaimed property issue, a West Virginia Circuit Court has held that insurers have no duty to search the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File...more
In the first federal appellate decisions addressing cost of insurance (COI) charges in life insurance policies, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed two victories to insurers in opinions issued December 13, 2013. In...more
On December 12, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its preliminary report on the use of arbitration clauses in consumer financial products and services. The preliminary report focuses on...more
On August 1, 2013, the California Supreme Court ruled in Zhang v. The Superior Court of San Bernardino County, No. S178542 (Cal. Aug. 1, 2013) that insurance practices violating the state’s Unfair Insurance Practices Act...more
During its recently concluded October 2012 term, the Supreme Court of the United States decided seven cases that are likely to have a significant impact on class action practice. This term’s decisions addressed evidentiary...more
The first stage of the Delaware Secretary of State’s Voluntary Disclosure Agreement program (the “Delaware VDA Program”) for unclaimed property reporting closes on June 30, 2013. Companies that enter into the Delaware VDA...more
“The arbitrator’s construction holds, however good, bad, or ugly.” This was the succinct message delivered on June 10, 2013, by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, No. 12-135, which challenged...more
On May 28, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Mississippi v. AU Optronics Corporation, No. 12-1036, to consider whether a parens patriae action brought by a state attorney general is removable as a “mass...more
On April 16, 2013, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on “Tax Fraud and Tax ID Theft: Moving Forward With Solutions,” including testimony on proposals to restrict access to the Social Security Administration’s Death...more
Over the past two years, states have undertaken various initiatives – including audits, exams, regulations, and legislation – intended to require insurers to compare their life insurance policy records with the record of...more