KEY STAKEHOLDERS CONTINUE TO EXPRESS ACO CONCERNS

As the comment period for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) proposed rule to create Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) draws to a close, major stakeholders continue to express serious concerns and doubts with the proposal as currently written. …
Read More ACO Update

The process of high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or “hydrofracking,” was first used commercially by Halliburton in 1949. It involves injecting millions of gallons of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, deep into the ground at high pressure in order to break up dense shale rock formations and release trapped natural gas to the surface.  The risks associated with hydrofracking, however, are numerous and diverse, affecting every stage of the process from transporting and drilling to waste storage and disposal. …
Read More “The Risks of Hydrofracking” and “Insurance for Hydrofracking”

In Arash Shipping Enterprises Company Limited v Groupama Transport, the Court of Appeal considered the impact of Council Regulation (EU) No.961/2010 (the Regulation) on a contract of insurance. The Regulation aimed to impose restrictive measures against Iran “with a view to supporting the resolution of all outstanding concerns regarding Iran’s development of sensitive technologies in support of its nuclear and missile programmes“. …
Read More UK: Court of Appeal Considers Impact of Iran Sanctions Order on Contract of Insurance

Governor Martin O’Malley announced the appointment of Therese Goldsmith as Maryland Insurance Commissioner, effective June 13, 2011.  Ms. Goldsmith has most recently served as commissioner of the Public Service Commission of Maryland. …
Read More Therese Goldsmith Appointed as Maryland Insurance Commissioner

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the state’s workers’ compensation statute does not bar a lawsuit by a subcontractor’s employee against the general contractor, even if the employee previously collected workers’ compensation benefits from the general contractor’s insurer.  See Wentworth v. Henry C. Becker Custom Bldg., No. SJC-10806 (May 23, 2011). …
Read More Massachusetts High Court: Workers’ Comp Bar Does Not Apply to Subcontractor Employee’s Suit Against General Contractor

In Römer v Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (Romer), a reference was made to the European Court of Justice (the ECJ) for a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Council Directive 2000/78/EC (concerning a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation) (the Directive) and of European legislation relating to discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in employment and occupation. …
Read More EU: European Court of Justice Rules That Same-Sex Couples Should Enjoy Equal Pension Rights

EAPD’s Privacy and Data Protection Group is pleased to announce that the newest edition of its White Paper, “Everyone’s Nightmare: Privacy and Data Breach Risks,” has been prepared. The paper discusses legal and regulatory data security and breach notification developments, exposures presented by data breaches, recent major breaches and court decisions, and lines of insurance potentially impacted. …
Read More Everyone’s Nightmare: Privacy and Data Breach Risks

The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a reinsurer’s request to hear a dispute that concerned, among other things, whether a cedent’s party-appointed arbitrator should be disqualified from serving in a subsequent arbitration involving related parties and issues. …
Read More Supreme Court Denies Reinsurer’s Petition to Hear Arbitrator Disqualification Case

Business partners BHP Billiton Ltd. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. were recently hit with a series of proposed class actions in Arkansas alleging their hydraulic fracturing (“hydrofracking”) operations and compression stations are contaminating nearby groundwater, soil, water wells and air as well as causing dangerous seismic activity. …
Read More Hydrofracking: Recent Flurry of Class Actions in Arkansas

Last year, the Law Commission questioned whether Section 53 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (the MIA) should be reformed (Issues Paper 8) and whether Section 22 of the MIA should be repealed (Issues Paper 9). A summary of responses to each of these papers has been published. …
Read More UK: Insurance Contract Law Reform – Responses to Issues Papers 8 and 9 Issued