On December 29, 2009, Broadcom announced that it had agreed in principle to pay $160.5 million to settle a securities class action pending in United States District Court for the Central District of California  against the company and certain of its current and former officers and directors. 

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Read More Broadcom Settles Options Backdating Securities Class Action

In 2002, Tyco became embroiled in a well-publicized scandal arising out of alleged corporate looting by the company’s top management.  In 2005, Tyco’s former CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, and its former CFO, Mark H. Swartz, were convicted of grand larceny and securities fraud and are currently serving prison sentences.  Many civil litigations arose out of the Tyco scandal, including a securities class action that settled for nearly $3 billion. …
Read More Former Tyco Director Settles With Pension Fund in Opt-Out Action

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a private letter ruling on December 11, 2009, resolving a taxpayer’s question as to whether its business as a captive reinsurer is “insurance” for tax purposes.  The IRS provides private letter rulings upon individual taxpayer request in which the IRS interprets and applies tax law to a taxpayer’s specific set of facts. 

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Read More In Private Letter Ruling, IRS Says Captive Reinsurance of Fronted Pools is “Insurance” for Tax Purposes

NERA Economic Consulting has issued its report titled:  “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation:  2009 Year-End Update” (the “NERA Year-End Update”).  The NERA Year-End Update provides statistics based on information through November 30, 2009. 

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Read More NERA’s 2009 Year-End Securities Class Action Trends Update

On December 2, 2009 the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (“JPML”) ruled that an action alleging damage from North American manufactured drywall should not be transferred to the federal Chinese Drywall Multi-District Litigation (“MDL”) pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana (In Re: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2047). 

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Read More Chinese Drywall – Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation Rules that Matter Involving North American Manufactured Drywall Should Not Be Transferred to Chinese Drywall MDL

On December 2, 2009 the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (“JPML”) rejected efforts to transfer an insurance coverage action to the federal Chinese Drywall Multi-District Litigation (“MDL”) pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana (In Re: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2047). 

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Read More Chinese Drywall – Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation Rules that Insurance Coverage Matter Should Not Be Transferred to Chinese Drywall MDL Proceedings

(1) Cavell USA (2) Kenneth Edward Randall v (1) Seaton Insurance (2) Stonewall Insurance [2009] EWCA Civ 1363, concerned the construction of a Termination and Release Agreement, which provided for English law and jurisdiction and, under clause 13, for a full release by Randall from “all actions, causes of action, suits, claims and demands whatsoever, whether at law or equity…save…(iii) in the case of fraud” on Randall’s part. 

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Read More UK: Construction of Termination and Release Agreement; Claims in Fraud

In April 2009, the Minnesota Department of Commerce (the “Department”) summarily suspended the insurance licenses of Michael Antonello and the insurance agency for which he served as chairman, Wealth Management Advisors, LLC (“Wealth Management”), for alleged dishonest practices in connection with the sale of life insurance policies and related Stranger Originated Life Insurance (“STOLI”) transactions. 

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Read More Minnesota Department of Commerce Revokes Producer License in an Insurable-Interest Case

Amid the partisan atmosphere of the Senate’s marathon debate on healthcare reform, leaders of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee last week sought to revive the notion that Democrats and Republicans are working together to craft financial regulatory reform legislation. …
Read More Renewal of Bipartisanship in Senate Banking Committee