Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced on Friday that her office has filed a lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders, Fremont Investment and Loan (“Fremont”).  The suit accuses Fremont of predatory lending practices under Massachusetts’ 2004 Predatory Home Practices Act. 


Read More Massachusetts Attorney General Files Suit Against National Mortgage Lender Over Subprime Mortgages

This blog serves as an update to our June 7 and September 12 postings. 
 
Last week, we attended the Fall NAIC meeting in Washington D.C.  During the meeting, the Reinsurance (E) Task Force discussed a proposal to modernize current reinsurance regulation. 


Read More NAIC Reinsurance Task Force Considers Modernizing Reinsurance Regulation

Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. of the United States district court of Lousisa federal district court sitting in Louisiana recently held that two homeowners could jointly file an amended complaint and proceed with their proposed class action lawsuit against State Farm Fire and Casualty Company and software company Xactware. 


Read More Potential Class Action against State Farm and Its Claims Adjusting Software Company

The Fall 2007 Edition of the EAP&D Corporate Law and Litigation Bulletin has recently been released and is available here.  The Bulletin contains discussion of the following developments: 


Read More EAP&D Corporate Law And Litigation Bulletin Addresses Recent Statutory And Caselaw Developments In Delaware Corporate Law

In a decision dated, September 27, 2007, the Hon. Bernard J. Fried, Commercial Division Justice of the New York Supreme Court for the County of New York, granted in part and denied in part Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Veras hedge fund families (“Veras Hedge Funds”) in the case captioned Veras Investment Partners, LLC, et al.  v. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Index No. 600340/2007. 


Read More New York Supreme Court Commercial Division Allows Fraud Claim Against Law Firm That Advised Hedge Fund On Market Timing Trading Which Resulted In Regulatory Investigation

On September 17, 2007 Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton weighed in with her proposal, “the American Health Choices Plan” (“the Plan”), which according to Senator Clinton “expands personal choice, but keeps costs down.” 


Read More Senator Clinton Proposes the American Health Choices Plan

Senator Grassley, the top republican on the senate finance committee, sent a letter to the nation’s largest providers of long-term care insurance requesting information on claim processing. 


Read More U.S. Senator Seeks Information From Long-Term Care Insurance Providers Regarding Claims Processing

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that, where a design is beyond the common experience or knowledge of the average layperson, a defective or negligent design case cannot succeed unless the plaintiff presents evidence “as to the relevant standard of care for the design and the way(s) in which the defendant’s design fell below that standard.” 


Read More First Circuit: Under Puerto Rico Law, A Plaintiff Must Ordinarily Introduce Expert Testimony Concerning Standard Of Care To Prevail On Defective Or Negligent Design Claim

Recently, in New Regency Productions, Inc. v. Nippon Herald Films, Inc., No. 05-55224 (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2007), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a district court’s vacatur of an arbitration award based upon evident partiality of the arbitrator, holding that an arbitrator has a duty to investigate possible conflicts arising from new employment and an obligation to disclose that employment to the parties. 


Read More Ninth Circuit Finds Evident Partiality In Arbitrator’s Failure To Investigate Potential Conflicts Arising From New Employment

Industry analysts have proclaimed that the Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) between the United States and South Korea  represents one of the most commercially significant expansions of the U.S. insurance market in recent history .  The FTA was executed on June 30, 2007 and is presently awaiting congressional approval. 


Read More Pending U.S.-Korea Treaty Could Expand U.S. Insurance Market