The state of Nevada’s failure to challenge a recent decision by a federal appellate court deeming that state’s “countersignature laws” unconstitutional officially marks the end of countersignature requirements for brokers placing business in the United States.
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Court of Appeals Denies Cedent’s Motion to Appeal Ruling That Reinsurer Not Obligated to Follow Settlement Allocation
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
About a year ago, www.insurereinsure.com reported on the New York Appellate Division’s ruling in Allstate Ins. Co. v. American Home Assurance Co., No. 9335 (App. Div., 1st Dept. June 12, 2007), which reversed a lower court’s decision and held that Allstate was not required to follow the fortunes of American Home’s loss allocation on a single occurrence “per site” basis, finding that American Home manipulated its allocation to exceed the facultative reinsurance contract’s $1 million per-occurrence deductible in order to maximize its reinsurance recoveries.
New England Patriots Face Auction Rate Securities Crunch
According to a recent report in the Boston Globe, an affiliate of the New England Patriots has filed suit against its bond insurer, AMBAC, in an attempt to avoid $2.8 million in accelerated premium payments linked to the troubled auction rate securities (“ARS”) market.
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UBS Agrees To Buy Back Up To $3.5 Billion Of Auction Rate Preferred Shares
In the wake of a lawsuit by the Massachusetts Securities Division alleging fraudulent sales of auction rate securities (“ARS”), UBS AG reportedly plans to buy back as much as $3.5 billion in ARS-impacted preferred shares issued by tax-exempt closed-end funds.
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Court Vacates Arbitration Awards Because Arbitrators Improperly Assumed Jurisdiction
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a recent decision from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, Olsen v. United States, No. CV-06-5020-FVS (E.D. Wash. Mar. 10, 2008), the court vacated several arbitration awards on the grounds that the reinsurer was not bound by the arbitration agreement in contracts between the ceding company and its insureds, and the arbitrators did not have jurisdiction to preside over the disputes between the parties. …
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Post Hall Street, Federal Courts Differ On the Application of Manifest Disregard of the Law
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Over the last few months, www.insurereinsure.com has reported on the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Hall Street Associates v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S.Ct. 1396 (2008) (click here to view previous post), which held that parties could not contract to expand the grounds for vacatur or modification of arbitration awards under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and the potential impact its holding might have on the doctrine of manifest disregard of the law (click here to view previous post). …
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UPDATE: House Committees Approve Three Federal Insurance Regulation Bills
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The House Subcommittee on Capital markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises (the “Subcommittee”) and the House Committee on Financial Services (the “Full Committee”) approved three insurance regulatory bills on July 9, 2008. This post provides updates on the three bills that have most recently advanced Congress’ examination of proposals to institute federal oversight of the insurance industry.
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Bankruptcy Court Rules That Federal Mogul Insurance Policies May Be Assigned to Asbestos Liability Trust
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a recent decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Federal Mogul Global, Inc., No. 01-10578 (JKF) (Bankr. D. Del., Mar. 19, 2008) (click here to read the decision), the court ruled that the assignment of rights in certain insurance policies to an asbestos trust was valid and enforceable under the Bankruptcy Code, and anti-assignment provisions in the policies and applicable state law were preempted. …
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Use of Credit Scores in Personal Line Insurance Rating
Recently, the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee held a hearing where speakers from various insurance industry and consumer protection groups gave testimony regarding “The Impact of Credit-Based Insurance Scoring on the Availability and Affordability of Insurance.”
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Antitrust Lawsuit Filed By Louisiana Against Insurers and Insurance Industry Participants Stays In Federal Court
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On November 7, 2007, former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr. filed a lawsuit in the Civil District for the Parish of Orleans alleging that under Louisiana’s antitrust laws certain insurers and insurance industry participants fixed prices, manipulated damage estimates and low-balled claims payments after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.