On July 9, 2009, a Texas federal court awarded in excess of $5.5 million in damages to an insured under a second-layer excess insurance policy, for claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina related damage. One of the main issues in contention was whether the second-layer excess insurer’s liability attached even if the underlying insurers had paid out their full limits of liability because they did not correctly determine coverage. 

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Read More Katrina: $5.5 Million in Damages Awarded by Texas Federal Court to an Insured Under a Second-Layer Excess Insurance Policy Regardless of Whether the Underlying Insurers Properly Paid their Limits

The applicant, Midgulf, was a trader in sulphur. Groupe Chimiche Tunisien was a state-owned company of Tunisia which had a demand for sulphur. The parties entered into a contract in June 2008 for the sale of 23,000 mt of sulphur by Midgulf to Groupe Chimiche Tunisien, which included a clause for London arbitration. A second, July, contract was for the sale and purchase of 150,000 mt of sulphur at $895 per ton. This was agreed between the parties orally. …
Read More UK: Agreement to Arbitrate: MIDGULF INTERNATIONAL LTD v GROUPE CHIMICHE TUNISIEN

On 24 March 2009, Sir Andrew Park sitting as a High Court judge in the UK Companies Court handed down his judgment in the case of Global Trader Europe Limited (Global Trader). The case is highly significant both for the global financial services industry and for those having to deal with the insolvency or near insolvency of financial institutions. …
Read More UK: English High Court Rules on Trust Claims in an Insolvency with Potentially Important Consequences for the Lehman Brothers Administration

A state appellate court in Louisiana recently increased a trial court’s award against an insurer in connection with a Hurricane Katrina-related bad faith claim, finding that the trial court had misinterpreted the statutory penalties available to the plaintiff. 

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Read More Louisiana Appeals Court Increases Trial Court Award to $1.3 Million in Statutory Penalties in Katrina Bad Faith Case

The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut recently granted in part an insurer’s motion to dismiss on the basis that the insured could not prove a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Insurance/Trade Practices Acts because allegations of multiple unfair practices in dealing with a single insurance claim are not sufficient to constitute a “general business practice.” …
Read More Connecticut Federal Court: Multiple Unfair Practices in the Handling of a Single Insurance Claim do not Constitute a “General Business Practice”

Two D&O insurers have asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota to lift an automatic stay in a bankruptcy proceeding pending against their insureds so that the insurers can pursue their coverage defenses as counterclaims against the insureds in a pending declaratory judgment action. 

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Read More D&O Insurers Seek Relief from Automatic Stay in Order to Assert Coverage Defense Counterclaims Against Investment Firm Insureds

In JPM and ors v. Nugent Care Society; GR v. Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council [2009] EWCA Civ 827, the Court of Appeal explained, for the first time, the significance of the landmark decisions in A v. Hoare and Lister v. Hesley Hall (see our Guidance Note on Hoare (also discussing Lister) by clicking here) in revolutionising the landscape for abuse claims in the UK. 

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Read More UK: Historic Abuse Claims

In Josef Syska (Administrator of Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy) and Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy) v Vivendi Universal SA & Others [2009] EWCA Civ 677 the main question to be decided by the Court of Appeal was whether, when an arbitration is proceeding in one Member State of the European Union, in this case the UK, and one of the parties to the arbitration becomes insolvent in another Member State, in this case Poland, the consequences of that insolvency, in so far as they affect the arbitration, are to be determined by the law of the Member State where the insolvency proceedings have been instituted or the law of the Member State in which arbitration is taking place. 

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Read More UK: Arbitration and Insolvency

In Tim Knight v AXA Assurance [2009] EWHC 1900 (QB) the court was asked to determine two preliminary issues of law: whether the assessment of damages, where liability is admitted, should be governed by English law; and to what extent the award of pre-judgment interest should be governed by English law and/or French law. …
Read More UK: Damages and Pre-Judgment Interest Where the Damage Occurs in a Foreign Jurisdiction