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Business partners BHP Billiton Ltd. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. were recently hit with a series of proposed class actions in Arkansas alleging their hydraulic fracturing (“hydrofracking”) operations and compression stations are contaminating nearby groundwater, soil, water wells and air as well as causing dangerous seismic activity. …
Read More Hydrofracking: Recent Flurry of Class Actions in Arkansas

Last year, the Law Commission questioned whether Section 53 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (the MIA) should be reformed (Issues Paper 8) and whether Section 22 of the MIA should be repealed (Issues Paper 9). A summary of responses to each of these papers has been published. …
Read More UK: Insurance Contract Law Reform – Responses to Issues Papers 8 and 9 Issued

As part of a coordinated national investigation, California state insurance regulators held a hearing on May 23, 2011 to probe one particular life insurer’s claims settlement practices. Just as in the Florida hearing described in our May 20, 2011 advisory, at issue was the life insurer’s use of the Social Security Death Master File (DMF), a publically-available database containing information on deceased Americans. …
Read More Client Advisory – California Announces Investigation of Life Insurers’ Use of Social Security Death Master List and Compliance With Unclaimed Property Laws

Following the Court of Appeal decision in their application to the Court for directions to enable them to identify client money and its traceable proceeds (as previously reported here), the administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) sought further directions regarding the further work to be carried out, the evidence to be prepared and the identification of appropriate respondents and sought a protective costs order. …
Read More UK: High Court Tells Lehman Administrators to Await Supreme Court Decision

CMS UNVEILS THREE NEW ACO INITIATIVES

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) – part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – recently announced three new initiatives related to the Medicare Shared Savings Program and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). …
Read More Healthcare Update: ACO Update; Senators Express Face-To-Face Concerns

This is an update as to the efforts of various state insurance regulators, and attorneys general, to coordinate an investigation of life insurance claims settlement practices. Specifically, insurance regulators have been investigating a number of large life insurance companies regarding the purported failure to pay, or undue delay in remittance of, death benefits to beneficiaries of life insurance and allied products. …
Read More Client Advisory – State Insurance Regulators Coordinate Investigation of Life Insurers’ Compliance With Unclaimed Property Laws

he Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (“IIABNY”) announced in a press release last week that it will appeal a lower court’s decision to uphold Regulation 194, last discussed here, which requires mandatory producer compensation disclosure.  The appeal will be filed with the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Third Department in Albany sometime this summer. …
Read More Industry Trade Group Continues Battle Against New York Producer Compensation Disclosure Rule

In a ruling written by former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, sitting by designation, the First Circuit concluded that Cynosure, Inc., was owed no coverage by St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company under a Massachusetts commercial policy insuring against injury caused by advertising. …
Read More Reversing District Court, First Circuit Finds Cynosure Owed No Coverage for Fax Blasts Suit

On May 17, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed property insurance reform legislation.  We previously reported on the progress of Senate Bill 408 here.  The new law requires windstorm and hurricane claims to be brought within three, instead of five years, and sinkhole claims to be brought within two years. …
Read More Florida Governor Signs Florida Property Insurance Reform Into Law