In the second panel of the PLUS D&O Symposium, the panelists discussed the recent rise in litigation following mergers and acquisitions.  One panel member recalled that around 84% of M&A deals result in litigation, with an average of five lawsuits filed in each case. …
Read More PLUS D&O Symposium 2012 — Day 1 Second Panel: What’s New in M&A Litigation and How Did We Get Here?

The first panel of the 2012 PLUS D&O Symposium discussed some of the latest trends in securities litigation and opined on potential future developments which may impact the D&O industry. …
Read More PLUS D&O Symposium 2012 — Day 1 First Panel: Latest Trends in Securities Litigation and Dodd-Frank

The Seventh Annual American Bar Association Homeland Security Law Institute is taking place in Washington DC on March 22 and 23, 2012.  The Institute addresses a wide range of subjects of interest to the private and public sectors, many of which are directly relevant to the insurance industry. …
Read More Two Edwards Wildman LLP Partners on Panel at ABA Homeland Security Law Institute

The captain of the 114,137 gross ton, 952-foot long, 4,000+ person, six-year-old Costa Concordia cruise ship who ran it aground last month reportedly initially characterized the vessel as having suffered a “small technical failure.” …
Read More A “Small Technical Failure” – Liability and Coverage Aspects Related to the Wreck of the Costa Concordia

WHITE HOUSE BRIEF SAYS PPACA CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL MANDATE
In a brief filed on January 27, the Obama administration told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) could survive even if the individual mandate provision were declared unconstitutional. The mandate, set to take effect on January 1, 2014, would require most U.S. citizens to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. …
Read More Healthcare Update: White House Brief Says PPACA Can Survive Without Individual Mandate; Texas Denied MLR Waiver

In the case of (1) Sealion Shipping Limited (2) Toisa Horizon Inc v Valiant Insurance Co [2012] EWHC 50 (Comm), Mr Justice Blair held that a marine insurer could not avoid liability for machinery breakdown under a loss of hire policy. …
Read More UK: Court Rules on the Materiality of Non-Disclosures, and the Meaning of “Want of Due Diligence” in a Marine Policy

In jurisdictions that impose on an insurer a common-law duty of good faith and fair dealing and a statutory duty not to act vexatiously or unreasonably, an insurer may be found to have violated one duty even if it did not violate the other. The Eighth Circuit recently handed down a ruling serving as an example of this principle. In Tripp v. Western National Mutual Insurance Co., the Court of Appeals affirmed post-judgment relief based on South Dakota’s statutory prohibition against unreasonable or vexatious behavior by an insurer.   …
Read More Client Advisory – Federal Court of Appeals Affirms Statutory Bad-Faith Liability Imposed on Insurer Despite Jury’s Refusal to Find Liability for Common-Law Bad Faith

By March 1, 2012, companies with personal information of Massachusetts residents must amend their existing contracts with vendors that handle such information to require the vendors’ compliance with the Massachusetts data security regulations. …
Read More Client Advisory – March 1 Deadline for Companies and Vendors with Massachusetts Personal Information

In Mary Harvey v. Motor Insurers’ Bureau (QBD (Merc) (Manchester), Claim No: 0MA40077, 21 December 2011), the High Court held that it was not appropriate to grant leave to appeal an arbitrator’s decision that the victim of a road traffic accident was not entitled to compensation for personal injury under s.69 the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) (s.69 of the Act only allows appeals to be made where the arbitrator has made some error of law). …
Read More UK: High Court Confirms That Bringing Appeals of Fact Disguised as Appeals of Law Under s.69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 Will Not be Entertained