In Accentuate Limited v Asigra Inc (A company incorporated under the laws of Canada) [2009] EWHC 265, the English Court was asked to overturn the earlier decision of a District Judge which set aside an order giving the English claimant, Accentuate, leave to serve the Canadian defendant, Asigra, outside the jurisdiction and which granted a stay of proceedings. 

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Read More UK: English High Court Refuses to Enforce a Canadian Arbitration Award Which Failed to Give Effect to Mandatory EU Regulations

We have previously reported on the first instance decision of Maher v Groupama Est [2009] EWHC 38 (QB) in which the English Court considered two preliminary issues in proceedings brought by English claimants in London, against the French insurer, Groupama, for damages they incurred in an accident in France, in which the French insured was killed. 

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Read More UK: Court of Appeal Decides Both English and French Law Are Relevant in Dispute Between English Claimants and French Insurers

Section 984 of the “Discussion Draft” of the new financial regulation legislation sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christoper Dodd (D-Conn) proposes to amend the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”) to allow investors a private right of action to sue “any person that knowingly or recklessly provides substantial assistance to another person in violation of [the Securities Exchange Act of 1934].” 

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Read More Proposed Financial Regulation Bill Would Allow Investors to Sue “Aiders and Abettors”

A cause of action in tort may accrue at the time an insurance policy was issued, and not when a claim could eventually be made under that policy, if a negligent failure led to the policy being issued. 

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Read More UK: Court of Appeal Holds that a Cause of Action May Arise Upon Inception of an Insurance Policy

As previously reported here, the European Commission (the Commission) published its revised draft BER for the insurance sector on 5 October 2009.  Regular followers of the blog will recall that the draft regulation proposes to renew two of the four categories of agreements exempted by the current BER, namely information exchange and insurance pools, with certain amendments. 

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Read More EU: Revised Draft Block Exemption Regulation (BER) for Insurance Sector – End of Consultation Period Looming

On 11 November the High Court sanctioned the solvent scheme of arrangement of the Trimark Pools, which had been in run-off for over 40 years. The schemes involved London market reinsurance business written by 48 different companies. …
Read More UK – High Court Sanctions Trimark Solvent Scheme of Arrangement

Recently, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that where a policy’s exclusion clearly precluded coverage, the insurer could not be held liable under Pennsylvania’s statute for bad faith denial of coverage. 

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Read More Third Circuit Holds That Lack of Coverage Precludes Bad Faith Claim and That Failure to Follow “Best Practices” Is Not Bad Faith

On 30 October 2009, the European Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) published a statement reporting on the results of its analysis of the application of disclosure requirements related to financial instruments in the 2008 financial statements of 96 listed European banks and insurers, including 22 in the FTSE Eurotop index. 

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Read More EU: Committee of European Securities Regulators Publishes its Analysis of Financial Instruments Disclosures

Following the House’s November 7 vote on healthcare reform, the Senate now faces increasing pressure to vote on a bill this year, as evidenced by the words of both the current President and a former President last week.  In the House, Members spent the week in their congressional districts, in recess for Veterans Day. 

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Read More Last Week in DC: The Healthcare Reform Debate – November 16, 2009