This updates our May 13, 2010 posting.  On October 25, 2010, the New Jersey Assembly passed A.2360 (the “Bill”) by a vote of 77-0, which would permit a captive insurance market to exist in New Jersey.  The Bill is based largely on Vermont’s captive insurance bill, which is generally viewed as the state model with the best design for the captive insurance market so far. 
Read More Captive Bill Passed By New Jersey Assembly; Next Stop New Jersey Senate

A divided Court of Appeals of Kentucky recently held that an insured was continually covered under two back-to-back “claims-made” insurance policies issued by the same insurer even though a claim was made against the insured during one policy period, and not reported to the insurer until fourteen months later, during the second policy period. 
Read More Divided Kentucky Court of Appeals Relaxes Claims Made and Reported Requirements When Consecutive Policies Are Issued by the Same Insurer

The New York Times and its reporter Ron Nixon (collectively the “Times”) brought an action pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (the “Act”) against the United States Treasury in the New York Southern District court.  The Times sought to compel the Treasury Department to release the names of individuals who had been granted licenses by the Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) to conduct business in or with foreign countries that would otherwise be unlawful under OFAC’s economic sanctions programs. 
Read More New York Court Compels Treasury Department to Release Identity of OFAC Licensees

In William McIlroy Swindon Ltd & Rannoch Investments Ltd v Quinn Insurance Ltd [2010] EWHC 2448 (TCC), the High Court was asked to consider, as a preliminary issue, when a dispute could be said to have arisen for the purposes of an arbitration clause that provided that any dispute as to the insurer’s liability was to be referred to arbitration within nine months, failing which the claim would be deemed to have been abandoned. 
Read More UK: High Court Provides Clarity on Time Limits in Arbitration Clauses

On 14 October 2010 the UK Government announced its intention to change the institutional framework for enforcement of competition (antitrust) and consumer protection law in the UK.  At present, the UK has a dual agency system consisting of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission (the Commission). 
Read More UK: Government Announces Plans to Change Institutional Framework for the Enforcement of Competition (Antitrust) and Consumer Protection Law

Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Company (“Knauf”), has agreed to pay to repair 300 homes in four states in a remediation pilot program.  Owners of homes in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi with drywall manufactured by Knauf will be eligible to participate in the program. 
Read More Chinese Drywall – Manufacturer Agrees to Fund Remediation Pilot Program