The Supreme Court recently issued an important decision regarding the test for determining whether an investment adviser has violated its “fiduciary duty” to a mutual fund by charging excessive fees under §36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. 

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Read More Supreme Court Upholds Gartenberg Test for Mutual Funds’ Compensation of Investment Advisers

On Friday, April 30, 2010, the Florida Legislature approved S.B. 2176, which excludes certain lines of insurance from the rate filing and approval requirements in Fla. Stat. § 627.062(2)(a) and (f). 

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Read More Florida Amends Rating and Approval Process to Exclude Certain Commercial Lines

On April 27, 2010, the Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2009, H.R. 2555 (the “Act”) was passed by the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee by a vote of 39-26, and will head to the House floor for a full vote, although no date has yet been set. 

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Read More Homeowners’ Defense Act Approved by House Committee

The past two weeks brought several notable healthcare developments, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continued preparations for implementation of the new healthcare reform law – Public Law (PL) 111-148. …
Read More Healthcare News From Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – May 3, 2010

The Insurance and Reinsurance Department of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is holding a 60 minute complimentary webinar entitled “Emerging Trends in Asbestos Litigation: US/UK/European Issues and Perspectives” on Tuesday, May 25, 20 at 12:00 p.m. EST. …
Read More Webinar: Emerging Trends in Asbestos Litigation: US/UK/European Issues and Perspectives

Following on from our earlier blog on the High Court ruling that Zurich did not have to pay out for toxic sofa victims on the basis of Land of Leather’s subsequent administration and breach of claims control clauses, it seems that more than 1,500 other victims of those toxic sofas have been handed some good news. 

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Read More UK: Good News for “Non-Severe” Toxic Sofa Victims

In AES Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropwer Plant LLP v Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropower Plant JSC [2010] EWHC 722 (Comm) the High Court ruled that it had jurisdiction to grant declarations and continue an anti-suit injunction to protect an arbitration clause in a contract between two Kazakhstani companies, AES Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropwer Plant LLP (AESUK) and Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropower Plant JSC (JSC). 

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Read More UK: High Court Confirms Anti-Suit Injunction to Protect an English Arbitration Clause

A California appeals court has ruled that an insurance company did not act in bad faith when it refused to reimburse a jewelry wholesaler for more than $1.5 million in property that the wholesaler claimed was mistakenly handed over to an individual who was merely posing as an armored-car agent. 

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Read More California Appeals Court Holds That Insurer Can Rely on Voluntary-Parting Exclusion to Deny Coverage to Jewelry Owner who Mistakenly Gave Away $1.5 Million in Jewels

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas recently ruled that a professional liability insurer must defend its insured, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm, against claims by victims of the alleged Stanford Financial (“Stanford”) Ponzi scheme. 

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Read More Federal Judge Rules That Professional Liability Insurer Must Defend Insurance Broker Against Ponzi Scheme Lawsuits