On 26 August 2010, the European Commisson (the Commission) opened a competition investigation into the maritime insurance sector, in particular the agreements between the Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Clubs within the International Group of P&I Clubs (the International Group), a worldwide association of thirteen P&I Clubs. read more
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Nearly three years after a federal district court dismissed with prejudice a nationwide class action alleging antitrust and RICO claims against insurers and brokers in connection with contingent commission arrangements, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a limited swath of plaintiffs' claims. The Third Circuit concluded that plaintiffs' allegations regarding contingent commission arrangements alone were insufficient to support antitrust and RICO claims. read more
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Last week, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a ruling in which it placed several restrictions on the uses that the Connecticut Attorney General (AG) may make of documents subpoenaed from a Florida-based insurer during an antitrust investigation. read more
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Eithne McCarthy, from the Financial Services Unit of the European Commission's Competition Directorate General ( DG Comp), made a presentation on the new Insurance Block Exemption Regulation ( BER) to the Law Society's Competition Section on 13 April 2010. read more
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On 24 March 2010, the European Commission (the Commission) adopted its long-awaited new block exemption regulation for the insurance sector, which will come into force on 1 April 2010. Block exemptions are an instrument of European competition law that remove certain categories of agreement from the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements set out in Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (previously Article 81 EC Treaty). read more
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On Monday, February 22, Representatives Tom Perriello (D-Va.) and Betsy Markey (D-Colo.) introduced H.R. 4626, the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, to repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act antitrust exemption for the business of health insurance. read more
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Each year the FTC is required by statute to adjust the thresholds for Hart-Scott Rodino pre-merger filings. HSR filings and consequent regulatory approval of the transaction are required prior to closing a transaction involving the acquisition of assets (including exclusive licenses) or securities that meets the operative thresholds. read more
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As previously reported here, the European Commission (the Commission) published its revised draft BER for the insurance sector on 5 October 2009. Regular followers of the blog will recall that the draft regulation proposes to renew two of the four categories of agreements exempted by the current BER, namely information exchange and insurance pools, with certain amendments. read more
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On 5 October the European Commission (the Commission) published its revised draft BER for the insurance sector. read more
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Today, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy introduced legislation to eliminate the federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies. read more
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EAPD is delighted to announce that it will again this year host a half-day insurance seminar which will be repeated in Bermuda, New York and Boston. read more
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Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is delighted to announce that it will again this year host a half-day seminar which will be repeated in Bermuda, New York and Boston. read more
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The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida granted the receiver for The Aries Insurance Company (“Aries Insurance”) its motion to remand the case. The court remanded the receiver’s action to the state court in accordance with the requirements of the McCarran-Ferguson Act’s reverse preemption doctrine. read more
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Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, LLP recently obtained a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granting the motion of its clients, American United Life Insurance Company, Inc. (“AUL") and R.E. Moulton, Inc. ("REM”), to dismiss a third-party action against them in favor of arbitration. read more
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A federal district court in New Jersey has granted final approval of a $69 million settlement by Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. and other Marsh defendants in In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, 2:04-cv-5184 (D.N.J.), and In re Employee Benefit Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, 2:04-cv-1079 (D.N.J.). read more
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On January 23, 2009, Intel Corp. filed suit against American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company (“AGLI”), in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that AGLI owes a duty to defend Intel in its antitrust litigation with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (“AMD”). read more
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On January 16, 2009, United States District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, granted summary judgment in favor of defendants UnitedHealth Group, Inc. and Pacificare Health Systems, Inc. on all claims in the antitrust litigation with institutional pharmacy Omnicare, Inc. read more
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Reuters reports that bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd.’s proposed acquisition of Belgian lender Dexia’s U.S. bond insurance unit cleared an antitrust hurdle with the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. read more
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The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has concluded that competition in the insurance market is likely to be enhanced, rather than harmed, by a proposed consortium of commercial insurers who will pool their resources to offer large commercial insurance policies worth a minimum of $250 million. read more
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In a case that potentially raises substantial constitutional issues regarding rate-setting with respect to auto body repair labor rates, the Rhode Island Supreme Court granted petitions for a writ of certiorari filed by the Property Casualty Insurers' Association of America ("PCI") and the Department of Business Regulation ("DBR") on October 9, 2008. read more
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In its August 2008 opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower court decision granting the defendant insurers’ motion to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiffs’ price discrimination claims would “impair” the Missouri laws that regulate the “business of insurance” within the meaning of the McCarran-Ferguson Act. read more
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On November 7, 2007, former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr. filed a lawsuit in the Civil District for the Parish of Orleans alleging that under Louisiana's antitrust laws certain insurers and insurance industry participants fixed prices, manipulated damage estimates and low-balled claims payments after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. read more
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A New York based radiology practice (the “Plaintiff”) filed an action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against a benefits administration firm, CareCore National, LLC, that provides services for insurers including Aetna, GHI, HIP, Healthnet, Healthfirst, and Oxford. read more
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The Commission has begun a public consultation to investigate the functioning of the Insurance Block Exemption Regulation ( BER) and the impact on the various insurance markets in the European Union ( EU). read more
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On November 16, 2006, Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. (“FSAH”) received subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice issued in connection with ongoing civil and criminal investigations of brokers, financial institutions and bond insurers suspected of bid rigging awards of municipal guaranteed investment contracts (“GICs”). read more
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By complaint dated February 1, 2008, four named individuals commenced a class action lawsuit against fourteen (14) title insurance companies in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging violations of antitrust laws. read more
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Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd.’s (“FSA”) bond insurance unit reported in an 8-K filed February 4, 2008, that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) may bring a complaint against the company as part of an investigation into whether bids were rigged on investment contracts with local governments. read more
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On June 1, 2005, after a jury trial lasting over three weeks, a jury found for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (“BCBS-MA”), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (“BCBS-MN”), Federated Mutual Insurance Company (“Federated”), and Health Care Service Corporation (“HCSC”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) against Mylan Laboratories Inc. and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cambrex Corporation, and Gyma Laboratories (“Defendants”) on state law claims – agreement in unreasonable restraint of trade; conspiracy in unreasonable restraint of trade; monopolization; and, attempted monopolization – in the Lorazepam active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) market, Lorazepam tablet market and in the Clorazepate API and tablet markets. The jury awarded BCBS-MA $8,430,887, BCBS-MN $1,756,096, Federated $410,878.00, and HCSC $1,448,437.00 in damages. read more
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In a press release dated January 4, 2008, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office reported that it filed a complaint in Suffolk Superior Court against Ohio-based insurer Great American Insurance Group ("Great American"). read more
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On November 8, 2007, Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr. announced that his office filed a petition in New Orleans Civil District Court suit against Allstate Insurance Company, Lafayette Insurance Company, Xactware, Inc., Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, LLC, Insurance Services Office, Inc., State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, USAA Casualty Insurance Company, Farmers Insurance Exchange, Standard Fire Insurance Company and McKinsey & Company for alleged violations of the Louisiana Monopolies Act. read more
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On October 26, 2007, Oregon AG Hardy Myers announced a settlement with ACE Group Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries ("ACE") over allegations of improper, fictitious quoting and steering of insurance businesses. The AG filed a stipulated judgment in Marion County State Circuit Court, in which ACE agreed to pay $4.5 million to a group of eight Attorneys General in settlement of their antitrust claims with no admission that ACE violated any laws. read more
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On October 12, 2007, Caterpillar filed suit (the “Complaint”) against Aon Corporation, Aon Risk Services, Inc. of Illinois, and Aon Re Global, Inc. (“Aon”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. read more
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On October 16, 2007, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation ("FLOIR") issued a subpoena to several Allstate entities requesting that they appear before the FLOIR to give testimony and produce documents concerning their reinsurance program, their relationships to risk modeling companies, insurance rating organizations or companies and insurance trade associations. The subpoena calls for the testimony to take place on January 15-16, 2008. read more
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We recently reported on Chief Judge Brown's decision to dismiss the federal RICO Claims in the Insurance Brokerage Antitrust case pending in district court in New Jersey. As we discussed here, Judge Brown held that the plaintiffs had failed to satisfy Rule 8's pleading standard.
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On October 9, the Connecticut Attorney General (the “CT AG”) filed a Complaint against Guy Carpenter and Excess Reinsurance Inc. The Complaint is 107 pages long and contains numerous highly-disputed allegations about the structure of the reinsurance markets over the last fifty years as well as hotly contested claims about the activities of the participants in certain reinsurance facilities. read more
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On September 24, 2007, the Hon. Judge Kenneth Stern issued an Order denying defendants’ (insurance brokers and insurers) motion to dismiss an insured’s second amended complaint (the “Complaint”). read more
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In a 73-page exhaustive treatment of RICO pleading standards, Chief Judge Brown of the District of New Jersey dismissed with prejudice the federal RICO claims levied by putative class plaintiffs against most of the nation's large insurers and insurance brokers. read more
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On September 19, 2007, a paper entitled The Assault on the McCarran-Ferguson Act and the Politics of Insurance in the Post-Katrina Era, by Lawrence S. Powell, Ph.D., was presented at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies conference. read more
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Over two years ago, the European Commission (“EC”) initiated an inquiry into the state of competition in the European Union (“EU”) business insurance industry. In explaining the purpose of the inquiry, the EC notes in its Final Report that “[t]aking into account indications that competition in this sector within the common market may be restricted or distorted, the sector inquiry aimed at further investigating the sector and the practices concerned with a view to ultimately identifying any concrete restrictive practices or distortions of competition that may fall within the scope of Articles 81 or 82 of the Treaty.” read more
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Laying to rest antitrust claims that have embroiled dozens of insurance companies and the nation's largest insurance brokers for well over two years in In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, MDL 1663 (D.N.J.), Chief Judge Garrett Brown dismissed claims by putative class plaintiffs that the U.S. insurance industry was riddled with unlawful conspiracies to restrain trade. read more
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Following a three-year investigation, the Ohio Attorney General filed suit last week against Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. and four insurers, alleging violations of Ohio's antitrust laws. The complaint contends that Marsh and the insurers conspired to eliminate competition in the market for commercial casualty insurance in Ohio during the 2001 through 2004 time period. read more
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On July 23, 2007, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. announced settlements of recent investigations for a total of $115 million in restitution and penalties. Specifically, the Company entered into a settlement with the New York Attorney General's Office relating to an investigation of variable annuity market timing issues. read more
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In an effort to defeat plaintiffs' claims for a third -- and hopefully final -- time, insurer and broker defendants recently filed motions to dismiss the Second Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaints filed in In re Insurance Brokerage Antitrust Litigation, Civil Action No. 04-5184, MDL 1663 (D.N.J.) (GEB) ("MDL 1663"). read more
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