In speeches which set the tone for both the day and the FCA’s new approach to financial crime, the FCA’s Chief Executive and its Director of Enforcement and Financial Crime opened the Financial Crime Conference in London on Monday 1 July 2013.
Read More UK: Martin Wheatley and Tracey McDermott address FCA Financial Crime Conference
Morgan Keenan Settlement Shows Risk to Mutual Fund Directors When Valuing Mortgage-Backed Securities
In mid-June, eight former fund directors of Morgan Keenan & Co. settled allegations with the Securities and Exchange Commission that they had failed to exercise proper oversight with respect to mutual funds that had overvalued mortgage-backed securities during the 2007-08 housing market collapse. The settlement comes two years after Morgan Keenan agreed to pay $200 million to settle similar SEC claims against the firm itself and two employees who managed the funds.
Read More Morgan Keenan Settlement Shows Risk to Mutual Fund Directors When Valuing Mortgage-Backed Securities
Sponsors of Self-insured Group Health Plans Must Pay PCORI Fees By July 31
As reported in our Alert “IRS Proposes Rules on Fees Assessed on Health Plans to Fund Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund”, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) imposed a fee on sponsors of group health plans that is intended to partially fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The PCORI fee is applicable to each plan year ending on or after October 1, 2012 and before October 1, 2019.
Read More Sponsors of Self-insured Group Health Plans Must Pay PCORI Fees By July 31
Class Waiver Provisions in Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable, Regardless of Arbitration Costs to Individual Plaintiff, Says United States Supreme Court.
A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court in American Express Co. et al. v. Italian Colors Restaurant et al., __ U.S. __ (June 20, 2013) marks a victory for many seeking to minimize their class action exposure through execution of arbitration agreements with consumers or employees.
Read More Class Waiver Provisions in Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable, Regardless of Arbitration Costs to Individual Plaintiff, Says United States Supreme Court.
Federal Government to Delay Employer Mandate
The so-called “employer mandate” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), requiring businesses to provide healthcare coverage to their employees or pay penalties, will be delayed for one year, until 2015. In a blog posting on July 2, Mark J. Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said that the Administration had “heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively” and would publish formal guidance on the transition within one week.
Read More Federal Government to Delay Employer Mandate
UK: Duty of Disclosure: Fair Presentation of the Risk
In Alan Bate v Aviva Insurance UK Ltd [2013] EWHC 1687 (Comm), the Commercial Court held that there had been material misrepresentation and non-disclosure as the insurer was not given a fair presentation of the risk.
Read More UK: Duty of Disclosure: Fair Presentation of the Risk
COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR – Fundamentals Of, and Insurance Coverage For, Merger Objection Suits: The Basics – July 17, 2013
There has been a sharp uptick in the frequency of merger objection lawsuits in the past several years. These suits are now brought after virtually every major deal is announced.
Read More COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR – Fundamentals Of, and Insurance Coverage For, Merger Objection Suits: The Basics – July 17, 2013
Twice in One Day, the Fifth Circuit Enforces a Pollution Buyback’s Thirty-Day Limit for Giving Notice of an Occurrence
On June 18, two entirely different panels of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed judgments in favor of insurance companies on the grounds that the policyholder’s notice was untimely under the policy’s pollution buyback. Starr Indemnify & Liability Co. v. SGS Petroleum Service Corp. and Settoon Towing LLC v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Co. both involved a form of umbrella insurance known as bumbershoot.
Read More Twice in One Day, the Fifth Circuit Enforces a Pollution Buyback’s Thirty-Day Limit for Giving Notice of an Occurrence
Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Bartlett: The Supreme Court Reaffirms Preemption of State-Law Claims Against Generic Drug Manufacturers
The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett, ___ U.S. ____ (June 24, 2013), offers welcome clarity to generic drug manufacturers: reaffirming that state tort claims against those manufacturers are preempted by the Hatch-Waxman Amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), and by the Court’s landmark decision in Pliva v. Mensing, 113 S.Ct. 2567 (2011).
Read More Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Bartlett: The Supreme Court Reaffirms Preemption of State-Law Claims Against Generic Drug Manufacturers
UK: FCA Publishes Thematic Review of Mobile Phone Insurance
The FCA published the report on its thematic review of mobile phone insurance (MPI) yesterday. The second thematic review carried out by the regulator, it followed the example set by the recent review of motor legal expenses insurance (see our earlier blog post here), and condemned opt-out selling practices.
Read More UK: FCA Publishes Thematic Review of Mobile Phone Insurance