Florida Developments

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On September 22, 2010, a U.S. District Court Judge in the Middle District of Florida transferred an insurer’s Chinese Drywall coverage case to the District Court in New Orleans, where Multi-District Chinese Drywall Litigation is pending. …
Read More Florida Federal Court Judge Sends Insurer’s Chinese Drywall Suit to New Orleans MDL

On September 24, 2010, the Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board and the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) held a joint public hearing to review the impact of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.  The Board then passed a resolution to seek a waiver from the MLR requirements. …
Read More Florida Plans to Seek Waiver of Medical Loss Ratio Requirements of PPACA

Plaintiffs sued their insurer, Northbrook Indemnity Company, which removed the case to federal court and moved to compel arbitration.  A Florida district court granted Northbrook’s motion to compel, and the dispute proceeded to arbitration. …
Read More Federal Court Denies Insured’s Motion to Vacate Arbitration Award: Finds That Reinsurer Was Not Indispensable Party to Dispute, Arbitrators Had Authority to Award Attorneys’ Fees, and Manifest Disregard of the Law is No Longer Viable

Effective July 1, 2010, Florida joined several other states in reducing the liability of trustees of irrevocable life insurance trusts (“ILITs”), with the enactment of § 736.0902 – Non-application of prudent investor rule.  The Florida prudent investor rule protections relieve the trustee from any duty to manage the life insurance as an investment.  Further, it relieves the trustee from liability for any loss sustained with respect to the life insurance. …
Read More Florida’s Statutory Reduction of ILIT Trustee Liability

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed legislation that bans insurers from cancelling or non-renewing homeowners insurance coverage when a policyholder files a claim based on Chinese Manufactured drywall.  As previously reported here, Louisiana state Senate Bill, SB 595, was sponsored by State Senator Julie Quinn (R-Metairie) and unanimously passed the Louisiana Senate on April 26, 2010. …
Read More Chinese Drywall – Louisiana Legislature Bans Policy Cancellations and Non-Renewals Based upon Drywall Claims

In an unpublished opinion, the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the trial court’s decision that a D&O policy does not provide coverage for third-party property damage claims. …
Read More Eleventh Circuit Upholds That D&O Policy Does Not Provide Coverage for Claims Arising Out of Property Damage Under Florida Law

According to an estimate provided by Lloyd’s of London, over £6.2 billion worth of insurance coverage has been purchased by individuals and entities in connection with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which begins today.  Over half of that amount is for coverage for stadiums and training facilities, which reflects the vast amount of money that has been spent constructing and upgrading stadiums ($5.5 billion, according to the New York Times). …
Read More World Cup Insurance Estimated at Over 6 Billion Pounds

A federal judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently issued findings of fact and conclusions of law following a bench trial in favor of Wachovia in a suit brought by investors who were unable to liquidate certain Auction Rate Securities (“ARS”) originally purchased through Wachovia. …
Read More SDFL Judge Finds for Wachovia in Unique Auction Rate Securities Suit