More Insurance Coverage
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February 28, 2024
Plastic-Maker Says Insurers Must Cover Worker Death Suit
Ohio-based manufacturer Encore Plastics took Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America and American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Co. to federal court, claiming both companies are violating their policies by refusing to defend or indemnify it in an underlying suit over one of its workers' death in an industrial accident.
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February 27, 2024
Fla. Judge Says Yacht Suit Doesn't Support Punitive Damages
A Florida federal judge has recommended that punitive damages sought in a bad faith lawsuit against Travelers over failing to properly investigate a damaged yacht claim should be tossed, saying that the allegations don't support the higher standard needed to show malicious behavior or reckless disregard by the insurance company.
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February 26, 2024
Ex-Bank CFO Cops To $700K Theft And Life Insurance Scam
An ex-Eastern International Bank chief financial officer has pled guilty to defrauding the bank out of more than $700,000 to pay his personal expenses, and he admitted to opening life insurance policies in the names of bank employees to benefit his wife, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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February 26, 2024
Ponzi Schemer To Be Resentenced After High Court Ruling
A man who pled guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that targeted elderly victims will be resentenced after prosecutors agreed to dismiss an aggravated identity theft count following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the type of conduct that triggers the identity theft statute.
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February 26, 2024
Teva Tells 1st Circ. Feds Must Clear High Bar In FCA Case
Teva Pharmaceuticals told the First Circuit on Monday that the federal government should be held to — and cannot meet — a strict causation standard in a False Claims Act kickback case, asking the court to settle a matter of first impression in the circuit.
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February 26, 2024
New York Life To Pay $19M To Settle Retirement Plan Suit
Current and former New York Life Insurance workers asked a federal court Monday to approve a $19 million deal in a proposed class action alleging the insurance giant unlawfully kept underperforming proprietary investment options in two employee retirement plans.
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February 26, 2024
Estate Correctly Taxed On Insurance Payout, Justices Told
The U.S. Supreme Court should affirm a decision denying a tax refund to the estate of an owner of a building materials company that used a payout from his $3.5 million life insurance policy to purchase his shares in the business, the federal government argued.
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February 26, 2024
Justices Pass On Venue Fight In Erie Indemnity Fees Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the Third Circuit's refusal to transfer a case challenging Erie Indemnity Co. management fees from state court back to federal court, preserving the lower court's precedential ruling that the matter does not qualify as a class action under the Class Action Fairness Act.
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February 23, 2024
CFPB Subjects Lender To Supervision In 1st Oversight Flex
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday that it has decided to require supervision for one of the nation's largest personal installment lenders, a move that marks the first time the agency has flexed its special risk-based oversight power over a company's objections.
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February 23, 2024
State Farm Alleges Health Co. Violated Deal To Drop 366 Suits
Two State Farm units are accusing an automobile accident-focused healthcare center of wrongly pursuing 366 lawsuits against the insurer despite a settlement agreement State Farm said requires the facility to drop those suits.
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February 23, 2024
Insurance M&A Partner From Sidley Joins Kirkland
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has added a corporate partner in its insurance transactions and regulatory and financial institutions practice groups, bringing on a former Sidley Austin LLP attorney who said he "couldn't be more excited" to join the firm's Chicago office.
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February 23, 2024
With Interest, Trump Now Owes $454M For NY Valuation Fraud
Donald Trump owes New York state nearly a half billion dollars after a county clerk on Friday tacked on $99 million in interest linked to a $355 million judgment in the state attorney general's civil fraud case against the former president last week.
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February 23, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Gibson Dunn, Wachtell
In this week's Taxation with Representation, two asset managers invest in AITi Global, Chord Energy Corp. buys Enerplus Corp. and Truist sells an insurance subsidiary to an investor group led by private equity firms.
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February 22, 2024
Stressful Atty Work Can Warrant Disability Pay, Judge Says
A Virginia federal judge held Wednesday that a cybersecurity attorney whose doctors advised that he stop working after heart surgery shouldn't have had his long-term disability benefits claim denied, ruling that a life insurance company ignored evidence that his job was highly stressful and that stress could be dangerous.
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February 22, 2024
Chancery Defers Settlement To Ponder Control Challenges
Hopes for a quick end to litigation between a Texas-based insurance provider and a stockholder who sued over disproportionate insider control slipped away at a hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, Thursday after the presiding judge demanded to know how related Chancery Court litigation might affect a proposed settlement.
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February 22, 2024
DOJ Reports $2.7B False Claims Act Haul In 2023
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday released its latest data on recoveries under the False Claims Act, saying there were nearly $2.7 billion in settlements and judgments in the 2023 fiscal year, an increase from the prior year's haul.
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February 22, 2024
Total Vision's Antitrust Suit Against VSP Kept Largely Intact
Total Vision can move forward with most antitrust claims accusing eye care insurance giant VSP of hamstringing it and trying to force an acquisition at a dramatically reduced price, after a California federal judge said VSP cannot summarily duck behind a deal signing away Total Vision's rights to sue.
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February 22, 2024
Vesttoo Liquidation Delayed For Closer Look At Creditor Deals
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday postponed deciding the fate of Israeli financial technology firm Vesttoo Ltd.'s liquidation plan until early next week to give the remaining objector to the proposal time to review settlements the debtor reached with prior challengers.
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February 22, 2024
Kaufman Dolowich Adds Partner In New Delaware Office
Kaufman Dolowich has added to its newly launched Delaware office the former co-managing partner of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP's office in the First State.
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February 21, 2024
Del. Suit Accuses Healthcare Data Co. Exec Of Insider Trading
A stockholder launched a derivative lawsuit late Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging the founder of a behavioral healthcare data firm traded company shares using insider information and that nearly a dozen current and former directors and officers provided false and misleading disclosures about the business.
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February 21, 2024
Pa. High Court Returns Insurer's Status Question To 3rd Circ.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed its decision to consider whether a state-created insurer of last resort is a public or private entity, sending the case back to the Third Circuit on Wednesday after determining that the question was a matter of federal law.
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February 21, 2024
Wyden Plans Clampdown On Private Placement Life Insurance
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden plans a legislative push to thwart abuse of private placement life insurance, according to a report he released Wednesday that called the arrangements a tax shelter worth at least $40 billion that benefits a small group of very wealthy people.
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February 21, 2024
Barnes & Thornburg Beats Ga. Malpractice Claim On Appeal
A Georgia state appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a legal malpractice claim brought by a trustee for a former Barnes & Thornburg LLP client, finding there was "no merit" to her arguments that the firm violated the standard of care and sunk the trust's insurance suit.
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February 21, 2024
Fla. Senate Panel OKs $900M Tax Plan With Insurance Tax Cut
Florida would offer exemptions for insurance taxes and reenact a series of sales tax holidays under a bill that a Senate committee approved offering $900 million in tax reductions.
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February 20, 2024
Judge Spikes Ebix Investors' Bid For Ch. 11 Equity Committee
A Texas bankruptcy judge declined Tuesday to take the rare step of ordering the appointment of an equity committee to act on behalf of a group of shareholders in Ebix Inc.'s Chapter 11 case, ruling that the investors will be adequately represented without one.
Expert Analysis
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Texas Bankruptcy Ruling May Create Uncertainty For Sureties
A Texas federal court’s recent ruling in Markel Insurance v. Origin Bancorp casts uncertainty on the utility of commonly used contractual trust language, and highlights that sureties should not be put to the task of negotiating intercreditor agreements to protect their rights, says Lisa Tancredi at Womble Bond.
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2nd Circ. Reinsurance Ruling Correctly Applied English Law
Contrary to a recent Law360 guest article's argument, the Second Circuit correctly applied English law when it decided in Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas that concurrent reinsurance certificates required the reinsurer to cover loss in accordance with the law of the policy's governing jurisdiction, say Peter Chaffetz and Andrew Poplinger at Chaffetz Lindsey.
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ALI, Bar Groups Need More Defense Engagement For Balance
The American Law Institute and state bar committees have a special role in the development of the law — but if they do not do a better job of including attorneys from the defense bar, they will come to be viewed as special interest advocacy groups, says Mark Behrens at Shook Hardy.
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FCA Liability Lessons From HHS Psychotherapy Audit
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent finding of improper Medicare payments for psychotherapy services provided in 2020-2021 might inspire whistleblowers to pursue allegations under the federal False Claims Act, but there are reasons to be skeptical of converting these audit results into expansive FCA liability, say attorneys at Sidley.
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What's Next For 5th Circ.'s ACA Preventive Care Suit
The Fifth Circuit's high-profile Braidwood v. Becerra case has significant ramifications for Affordable Care Act coverage requirements, and there is precedent to suggest that it could be ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Nicholas DiCarlo at Zuckerman Spaeder.
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2nd Circ. Reinsurance Ruling Misconstrues English Law
The Second Circuit's finding in Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance, that London-based reinsurer Equitas owed coverage for losses outside the policy period, stems from that court's misinterpretation of English law on reinsurance policy construction, says Christopher Foster at Holman Fenwick.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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6th Circ. Judge Correctly ID'd ERISA Civil Procedure Conflict
While the Sixth Circuit in Tranbarger v. Lincoln Life & Annuity recently affirmed a ruling that denied the plaintiff's disability benefits, one judge's concurrence should be commended for arguing that adjudication of such Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases fundamentally contradicts the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Prepping Your Business Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on whether race should play a role in college admissions could potentially end affirmative action, and companies will need a considered approach to these circumstances that protects their brand power and future profits, and be prepared to answer tough questions, say Nadine Blackburn at United Minds and Eric Blankenbaker at Weber Shandwick.
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What Banks Can Glean From FSB Climate Risk Report
Although a recent Financial Stability Board report doesn't aim to provide specific guidance to financial institutions on how to incorporate climate-related metrics into their frameworks, it may nonetheless be valuable given the general lack of comparative data on evolving climate-related compensation practices elsewhere, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Cannabis Supercenters: Key Benefits And Legal Issues
Barstow, California’s novel plan to convert an abandoned mall into a cannabis supercenter could offer a potential blueprint for cannabis companies to thrive in a saturated market and for communities to repurpose underutilized retail spaces — but certain financing, zoning and leasing issues will need to be assessed, says Christopher Gordon at Fox Rothschild.
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Challenging Standing In Antitrust Class Actions: Injury-In-Fact
As demonstrated in recent cases, the classic injury-in-fact requirement for Article III standing claimed in most antitrust suits is economic harm — and while concrete harm satisfies the requirement, litigants may still be able to challenge whether economic injury has occurred, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.
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What ACA Preventive Care Ruling Means For Employers
Though a Texas federal court's recent ruling in Braidwood v. Becerra paves the way for employers to reimpose cost-sharing requirements on preventive care, companies considering making these changes to their group health and welfare plans should first analyze the financial and social impacts, says Rachel Shim at Holland & Knight.