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In a recent decision of the United Stated District Court for the Southern District of New York, Global Int’l Reinsurance Co. v. TIG Ins. Co., 08 Civ. 7338 (JSR) (S.D.N.Y. Jan 20, 2009), the court granted a cedent’s petition to confirm an arbitration award and denied a reinsurer’s motion to vacate the award in part. 

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Read More U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Confirms Arbitration Award

A delegation of representatives from municipal bond issuer advocacy groups, the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties, met last month with the staff of the New York State Insurance Department (the “NYSID”) to discuss the possible formation of a not-for-profit mutual municipal bond insurer that would be broadly-owned by the issuers of municipal debt.  During the discussion, the staff of the NYSID walked the delegation through the mutual insurance company licensing process. 

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Read More Municipal Bond Issuers Explore Forming a Mutual Insurer to Provide Municipal Credit Enhancement

On February 19, 2009, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas R. Sullivan testified before the Connecticut Insurance and Real Estate Committee in support of House Bill 6354, titled “An Act Regulating Surety Bail Bond Agents” (the “Act”).  The Act would reform the bail bond industry and allow the Connecticut Insurance Department to better regulate the industry through stronger laws. 

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Read More Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Supports Bail Bond Reform

As we previously reported here, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney signed a health care bill, known as “An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care” (the “Act”), into law on April 12, 2006.  The Act became effective on July 1, 2007 and requires that all Massachusetts residents carry health insurance, unless they have a waiver for religious reasons or have a waiver from the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority (the “Connector”).  Individuals that do not have a waiver and do not have health care insurance face fines of more than $1,000 per individual for the 2009 tax year. …
Read More Recession Will Test Massachusetts’ Mandatory Health Insurance Program

On February 12, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that shareholders of St. Joseph Medical Corp. (“St. Joseph”) could bring a securities class action against Cowen & Company (“Cowen”), an investment bank, in California state court under the Delaware carve-out of SLUSA for poor advice provided during the merger of the closely-held corporation with FPA Medical Management (“FPA”), a publicly-held company. …
Read More Federal Appeals Court: Shareholders Can Sue Financial Advisers in State Court Under Delaware Carve-Out of Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA)

On February 17, 2009, the Northern District of Texas issued a decision in which they applied an Insured v. Insured exclusion to a shareholder derivative action brought by two plaintiffs, only one of which was an “Insured.”  The Court concluded that the action was excluded in its entirety based on the plain meaning of the Insured v. Insured exclusion. …
Read More Insured v. Insured Exclusion Applies Where One of the Two Underlying Plaintiffs Was Not an “Insured”

On February 17, 2009, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed, without prejudice, a shareholder derivative action pending against Merrill Lynch’s directors and officers alleging breach of fiduciary and waste of corporate assets in connection with Merrill Lynch’s exposure to subprime debt. …
Read More Merrill Lynch Subprime-Related Shareholder Derivative Action Dismissed

The State Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit has held that an insured could pursue her lawsuit for Katrina-related damages against her insurer,  Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, even though the lawsuit was filed over a year after the August 2007 filing deadline had expired. …
Read More Recent Louisiana State Court Ruling Allows for New Hurricane Katrina-Related Suits Despite the Passing of the August 2007 Filing Deadline

On Wednesday, February 25, 2009, the House of Representatives passed legislation extending the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”), which was set to expire in March.  As we reported here, Congress previously extended the NFIP at the end of September 2008. …
Read More Update: House of Representatives Approves NFIP Extension

The Missouri Senate recently confirmed Governor Jay Nixon’s selection of John H. Huff to become the next Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration.  Huff has sixteen years of insurance experience.  For the past few years, he served as a managing director and strategic claims officer and supervised the strategic and emerging claims portfolio at Swiss Re. …
Read More John Huff Appointed New Missouri Insurance Director