AXA has commenced legal proceedings against 78 law firms in England and Wales in order to recover losses associated with after-the-event (ATE) insurance policies taken out on claims it believes were not properly vetted. The sums sought are stated to be in the region of £60million. 

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Read More UK: AXA Commences Legal Proceedings to Recover ATE Losses

The New York Attorney General filed a civil complaint yesterday against UBS Securities LLC and UBS Financial Services, Inc. alleging that UBS “committed a multi-billion dollar consumer and securities fraud on the investing public by falsely selling securities facing mounting liquidity risk as cash equivalents.” 

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Read More NY Attorney General Files Auction Rate Securities Complaint Against UBS

The Ninth Circuit federal court of appeals recently held that the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), which permits in general the removal to federal court of high-dollar class actions involving diverse parties, does not supersede section 22(a)’s specific bar against removal of cases arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (’33 Act). 

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Read More Ninth Circuit: CAFA Does Not Override Anti-Removal Provision of Securities Act of 1933 in Subprime Class Action

The Delaware Superior Court recently held that a fraud exclusion in a D&O policy did not bar coverage arising out of a stockholder litigation because the settlement of litigation did not constitute an adjudication of fraud as required to trigger the fraud exclusion. 

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Read More Delaware Superior Court: Settlement of An Action is Not An Adjudication For Purposes of Applying Fraud Exclusion in D&O Policy

The California Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision granting State Farm’s special motion to strike a claim in a case involving alleged misrepresentations during a personal injury case.  Click here to view the unpublished decision.

Appellants were tenants in a home belonging to Jeane and Edward Dunne (the

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Read More California Court of Appeals Affirms Decision for State Farm in Misrepresentation Suit

On July 15, 2008, the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, H.R. 3010 (the “Act”), which was originally introduced on July 12, 2007, was approved by the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. 

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Read More Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 Approved by House Subcommittee

Maldonado v. First Liberty Ins. Corp., 546 F. Supp. 2d 1347 (S.D. Fla. 2008), arose from an auto accident in which the insured’s wife collided with the father of three small children, causing his death  As soon as it became aware of the accident, the insurer notified the insured that “the nature and extent of the damages and injuries being claimed suggests there is a potential exposure in excess of your policy limits. . . .” 

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Read More Bad Faith – Florida District Court Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Insurer

Governor Charlie Crist, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, and Florida House Speaker Designate Ray Sansom were in London on July 15th to discuss state insurance issues.  Representing Governor Crist’s Team Florida Trade and Business Development Mission, the delegation met with Lord Levene, Lloyd’s of London chairman. Crist and his team were expected to discuss the role of global reinsurance and the threat of global warming. 

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Read More Governor Charlie Crist and Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty meet with Lloyd’s of London

Following on the heels of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (“NCOIL”) Secretary George Keiser’s testimony in support of the use of credit-based insurance scoring to the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, NCOIL adopted a Resolution Supporting State Regulation of the Use of Credit Information in Personal Insurance (the “Resolution”) on July 13, 2008. 

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Read More NCOIL Adopts a Resolution in Support of State-Based Regulation of the Use of Credit Scores in Personal Insurance Rating

On July 23, 2008, New York Governor David Paterson signed into law what has been referred to as the “late notice bill” (Senate Bill 8610 and Assembly Bill 11541).  The new law states that it takes effect 180 days after the date it is signed into law, and applies to policies issued after that 180-day period.  Accordingly, the new law takes effect on January 19, 2009. 

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Read More BREAKING NEWS: New York Governor Patterson Signs Law Reversing New York’s “No-Prejudice” Precedent, Requiring That an Insurer Has Sustained “Material Prejudice” Before Disclaiming Coverage on Late Notice Grounds