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In Fidelity & Deposit Co., et al. v. Douglas Asphalt Co., et al., No. 09-10919 (11th Cir. Jul. 28, 2009), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the District Court’s judgment in favor of the insurers, who sought to recover from their insured payments made under payment and performance bonds when the insured allegedly defaulted and failed to complete a project. 

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Read More Eleventh Circuit Affirms Judgment In Favor of Contractor’s Insurers, Finding No Bad Faith

Earlier this summer, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division held that an arbitrator’s determination in an underlying claim triggered the intentional acts and personal profit exclusions in both a D&O and E&O policy.  The Court held that the arbitrator’s conclusions not only established the excluded behavior as a matter of fact, but also satisfied the D&O policy’s final adjudication requirement.  The Court then concluded that the insured was required to reimburse defense costs paid by both the D&O and E&O insurers. 

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Read More Federal Court Rules that Arbitration Award Satisfied Final Adjudication Requirement in Intentional Acts and Personal Profit Exclusions

In a recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, WellPoint, Inc. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., No. 08-2283 (7th Cir. Aug. 7, 2009), the court ruled that a party seeking to challenge the appointment of a replacement arbitrator must do so at the time of the appointment or else lose its ability to make such a challenge. 

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Read More Seventh Circuit Rules that Challenge to a Replacement Arbitrator Must be Made at the Time of the Appointment and Not at the Conclusion of the Arbitration

On August 28, 2009, Delta Financial Corp. (“Delta”) filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit seeking to overturn the dismissal of its coverage action against Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. (“Westchester”) and United States Fire Insurance Co. (“USFI”).
Read More Delta Financial Appeals Denial of D&O Coverage Based on Inadequate Consideration (“Bump Up”) Exclusion

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has found that the district court has subject matter jurisdiction over securities claims brought by “F-Cubed” plaintiffs– i.e., a foreign investors who purchased shares in a foreign company on a foreign stock exchange. 

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Read More The Eleventh Circuit Finds Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over “F-Cubed” Plaintiffs

This updates our June 30, 2009 blog post.  The recently proposed Eleventh Amendment (the “Amendment”) to Regulation 41 (11 NYCRR 27), which governs the standards for excess lines placement, became effective on September 2, 2009.  The Amendment placed several additional categories of risks insured by excess lines carriers on the New York Export List. 

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Read More New York Expands Export List

The Connecticut Supreme Court recently reversed a judgment that had been in favor of an automobile insurer in a breach of contract action brought by glass repair companies who had been assigned the rights of the defendant’s insureds. …
Read More Connecticut Supreme Court Finds Automobile Insurance Policy Language Ambiguous

According to press reports, Atticus Capital announced recently that it would shut down two of its three funds and liquidate their $3 billion in holdings. The company’s founder cited personal reasons for this action. The two funds had a heavy concentration in the financial sector, which resulted in significant losses last year. Atticus will continue to manage the $1.2 billion Atticus European Fund. …
Read More Hedge Fund Closes Two of its Funds and Liquidates Holdings