The Federal District Court for the Western District of Kentucky recently denied a defendant insurer’s request to limit discovery in a bad-faith case to its pre-litigation conduct and to not include conduct post-commencement of litigation. 

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Read More Kentucky Federal Court: Bad Faith Discovery Not Limited To Pre-Litigation Conduct

The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently held that the New Jersey Punitive Damages Act  allows punitive damages to be entered for the purposes of punishing and deterring only a specific wrongdoer, not for general deterrence. 

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Read More New Jersey Supreme Court Rules That Jury May Not Consider General Deterrence When Setting Amounts of Punitive Damages Awards

A recent report by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) noted that the number of U.S. insurers placed under regulatory supervision in 2007 was the lowest in a decade.  The report attributes a decrease in insolvencies among property casualty insurers to, among other things, a mild hurricane season combined with better underwriting and an improved premium rate environment. …
Read More Insurance Insolvencies in the United States Reach a 10-Year Low

A member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council recently predicted that a resolution issued by the Ukrainian High Commercial Court may lead to that country’s secession from the U.N. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “Convention”). 

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Read More Resolution Issued by Ukrainian Court Rejects Enforcement of Arbitration Awards Under New York Convention

In a much anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) statutory grounds for vacating and modifying arbitration awards are “exclusive,” and thus cannot be expanded, even if expressly agreed upon by the arbitrating parties. 

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Read More U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Expanded Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards

On March 17, 2008, in a case pending in the United States District Court for The Central District of California, California Joint Power Insurance Authority  v. Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., Case No. CV08-00956, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. (“Munich Re America”) filed a motion to dismiss the count of the complaint filed by plaintiff California Joint Power Insurance Authority (“CJIPA”) seeking tort and punitive damages for an alleged breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing under the reinsurance agreement entered into between the parties. 

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Read More Reinsurer Argues that California Law Prohibits Tort Recovery for Bad Faith in the Reinsurance Context

Consistent with the strong federal policy favoring the enforcement of arbitration agreements, the United States Supreme Court recently held that when parties agree to arbitrate all questions arising under a contract, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) supersedes state laws lodging primary jurisdiction in another forum. 

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Read More Arbitration Prevails: U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Federal Arbitration Act Supersedes State Law Vesting Another Forum with Jurisdiction Over a Dispute

The New York Senate Finance Committee (the “Committee”) has rejected several proposals in Former Governor Eliot Spitzer’s 2008-2009 Executive Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation Budget, which would have increased various civil penalties placed on insurance agents and brokers for violations of Insurance Law and related regulations. 

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Read More New York Committee Rejects Proposed Increases in Insurance Fines

Following the recent trend set by states such as California, Florida and New Jersey, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) has adopted a revised version of the Unfair Trade Practices Model Act (the “Act”) that limits the circumstances in which a life insurer can deny coverage to an individual based on the individual’s lawful past and future travel. 

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Read More NAIC Follows States Lead To Prohibit Travel Discrimination In Life Insurance Policies

The United States Senate recently passed S. 2663, the Consumer Products Safety Commission Reform Act (“CPSC Reform Act”), which aims to provide increased protection for children’s products,  improved screening of noncompliant consumer products and more effective consumer product recall programs. 

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Read More U.S. Senate Passes Bill that Boosts Regulatory Might of the Consumer Products Safety Commission