On February 12, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that shareholders of St. Joseph Medical Corp. (“St. Joseph”) could bring a securities class action against Cowen & Company (“Cowen”), an investment bank, in California state court under the Delaware carve-out of SLUSA for poor advice provided during the merger of the closely-held corporation with FPA Medical Management (“FPA”), a publicly-held company. …
Read More Federal Appeals Court: Shareholders Can Sue Financial Advisers in State Court Under Delaware Carve-Out of Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA)

On February 17, 2009, the Northern District of Texas issued a decision in which they applied an Insured v. Insured exclusion to a shareholder derivative action brought by two plaintiffs, only one of which was an “Insured.”  The Court concluded that the action was excluded in its entirety based on the plain meaning of the Insured v. Insured exclusion. …
Read More Insured v. Insured Exclusion Applies Where One of the Two Underlying Plaintiffs Was Not an “Insured”

On February 17, 2009, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed, without prejudice, a shareholder derivative action pending against Merrill Lynch’s directors and officers alleging breach of fiduciary and waste of corporate assets in connection with Merrill Lynch’s exposure to subprime debt. …
Read More Merrill Lynch Subprime-Related Shareholder Derivative Action Dismissed

The State Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit has held that an insured could pursue her lawsuit for Katrina-related damages against her insurer,  Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, even though the lawsuit was filed over a year after the August 2007 filing deadline had expired. …
Read More Recent Louisiana State Court Ruling Allows for New Hurricane Katrina-Related Suits Despite the Passing of the August 2007 Filing Deadline

The Comparison Consortium recently announced that it is to join forces with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to develop a new code of practice for online insurance aggregators. The Comparison Consortium was established earlier this year to regulate and represent the online price comparison industry. …
Read More Comparison Consortium to Self Regulate Online Price Comparison Industry Despite Efforts of the FSA

The UK Treasury has proposed opening a new information gateway between the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Claims Management Regulator (CMR) so the two regulatory bodies can share information of mutual interest. The Treasury expects that the gateway would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory activities but would not cause significant savings or impose additional costs. …
Read More UK: Treasury Proposes Information Gateway Between FSA and Claims Management Regulator

Craig Stewart (Boston) and Antony Woodhouse (London) of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP are currently attending the 17th annual ABA/TIPS Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Meeting being held in Los Angeles. …
Read More ABA/TIPS Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Meeting

On Wednesday, February 25, 2009, the House of Representatives passed legislation extending the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”), which was set to expire in March.  As we reported here, Congress previously extended the NFIP at the end of September 2008. …
Read More Update: House of Representatives Approves NFIP Extension

The Missouri Senate recently confirmed Governor Jay Nixon’s selection of John H. Huff to become the next Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration.  Huff has sixteen years of insurance experience.  For the past few years, he served as a managing director and strategic claims officer and supervised the strategic and emerging claims portfolio at Swiss Re. …
Read More John Huff Appointed New Missouri Insurance Director