Mealey's Reinsurance : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Reinsurance

September 26, 2025
Reinsurer, Agency Allege RICO Scheme Inflated Injury Claims And Insurance Costs

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A reinsurer and management general agency allege in a New York federal court that numerous doctors and medical providers engaged in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) scheme in which they had workers stage construction accidents and exaggerate minor injuries to generate fraudulent workers’ compensation and liability claims to drive up settlement values and insurance costs.
September 25, 2025
A 2nd Pension Risk Transfer Case Is Dismissed For Lack Of Standing

ALBANY, N.Y. — Nearly six months after the first two rulings on dismissal motions in a much-watched recent set of putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) that retirees allege increase the possibility that they won’t get all of their promised benefits because of factors including offshore captive reinsurance, a New York federal judge issued the third ruling on Sept. 24, granting dismissal without prejudice for failure “to plausibly allege any injury-in-fact sufficient to establish standing.”
September 25, 2025
Summary Judgment Bid, Dismissal Of Counterclaim Denied In IRS Penalty Case

PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania federal judge denied a corporation’s motion to dismiss a counterclaim filed by the U.S. government and motion for summary judgment in a dispute over the alleged promotion of a tax shelter through a captive insurance arrangement, ruling that while the IRS penalties at issue implicate the Seventh Amendment, the statutory scheme is constitutional because the corporation may seek de novo jury trial review in federal court.
September 25, 2025
180-Day Extension Of Claims Objection Bar Date Requested In Vesttoo Liquidation

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal bankruptcy court has been asked to extend the claims objection bar date in the Chapter 11 liquidation of Vesttoo Ltd. and its dozens of affiliates by 180 days to April 6, 2026, with the beleaguered reinsurance provider citing a need for more time to generate proceeds and reconcile claims.
September 25, 2025
Insurance Administrator Sued Over Coverage Reversal Tied To Reinsurance Denial

BEND, Ore. — A public school district filed suit in Oregon state court, alleging that a nonprofit insurance administrator initially accepted coverage for a multimillion-dollar structural damage claim but later reversed its coverage decision after reinsurers denied liability.
September 24, 2025
3rd Circuit Denies Rehearing In Securities Suit Against Reinsurer

PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied the petition of a reinsurer and three former executives to rehear its decision to vacate a lower court’s discovery and summary judgment rulings in investors’ suit against the reinsurer and executives over allegations that they violated federal securities laws by omitting historical loss ratios from loss reserves disclosures; the panel had found that the omitted historical loss ratios were material and that discovery had not been completed.
September 23, 2025
Insurers Seek $10M Over Alleged Mismanagement Of Captive Insurance Program

NEW YORK — Four insurers filed suit in New York federal court against an insurance services firm, its captive affiliate and its general counsel, alleging mismanagement of a captive program that included failure to collect collateral, obstruction of trust withdrawals and interference with contractual rights, seeking more than $10 million in damages for breach of contract, negligence and tortious interference.
September 23, 2025
Judge Defers Ruling In Insurance Dispute Involving Arbitration, $524M Judgment

TAMPA, Fla. — In a docket-only order on Sept. 22, finding that the court cannot determine “whether diversity jurisdiction exists in this case,” a Florida federal judge deferred ruling on any pending motions in a suit filed by insurance mogul Greg Lindberg, the former owner of now-insolvent insurers, seeking to compel arbitration against a Puerto Rico insurer related to a dispute with it involving a $524 million judgment pursuant to a personal guaranty for a reinsurance agreement.
September 23, 2025
Insurer, Reinsurer File Joint Dismissal Motion In Mine Coverage Dispute

OMAHA, Neb. — National Indemnity Co. (NICO) and a reinsurer it sued for breach of contract and declaratory judgment jointly moved in Nebraska federal court to dismiss the reinsurer with prejudice as part of NICO’s suit to enforce its reinsurers’ obligations for incurred liabilities related to asbestos exposure stemming from a Montana mine.
September 22, 2025
Appellants Argue Reinsurer Was ‘De Facto Insurer’ In $844M Crash Coverage Appeal

MIAMI — Survivors of a 2016 plane crash and representatives of the deceased filed a brief in a Florida appellate court, arguing that a reinsurer acted as a “de facto insurer” and that state law accordingly permits them to pursue independent bad faith and coverage claims despite a trial court’s dismissal of their amended complaint that sought to enforce approximately $844 million in consent judgments.
September 22, 2025
Reinsurer Claims Insurer Withheld Premiums, Improperly Terminated Agreement

DALLAS — A reinsurer sued an insurer in a Texas state court, alleging that the insurer withheld more than $31 million in reinsurance premiums under a quota share reinsurance agreement (QSRA) and related deal, retroactively attempted to terminate their contract in violation of notice requirements and engaged in conduct amounting to breach of contract, unjust enrichment and statutory theft.
September 17, 2025
4th Circuit Will Consider Standing Issue In ERISA Pension Risk Transfer Case

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has agreed to allow an interlocutory appeal of a ruling that retirees had standing to file a putative class lawsuit that is part of a much-watched recent string of Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) where, among other things, retirees allege that the use of offshore captive reinsurers makes annuity providers riskier.
September 17, 2025
Parties Reach Settlement To Resolve All Remaining Claims In Reinsurance Dispute

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The two remaining parties in a suit involving reinsurance and related agreements notified a California federal court that they have reached a final settlement, resolving all outstanding claims and providing for the distribution of funds held by the court.
September 16, 2025
After Settlement Negotiations, Magistrate Orders Conference In Coverage Dispute

INDIANAPOLIS — After being advised of ongoing settlement negotiations in an underlying case, an Indiana federal magistrate judge ordered the parties to attend a telephonic status conference to discuss the suit filed by an insurer now in rehabilitation seeking a declaration that specified directors and officers (D&O) policies apply to cover claims in underlying litigation.
September 16, 2025
Reinsurer, General Agency Voluntarily Dismiss Doctor In RICO Case

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A reinsurer and a management general agency gave notice to a New York federal court that they are voluntarily dismissing claims against a doctor in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit alleging fraudulent workers’ compensation claims and personal injury lawsuits.
September 16, 2025
Reinsurer Claims Lack Of Issue Preclusion In Mine Subsidence Suit Against Railroad

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A reinsurer filed a reply memorandum supporting its motion for summary judgment in litigation concerning mine subsidence claims, contending that a railroad company’s opposition raises no material factual disputes and that its arguments are immaterial to the claim and issue preclusion factors central to the case.
September 16, 2025
Mass. Federal Judge Clears Reinsurer Of Liability In Rental Car Coverage Dispute

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of a reinsurer, dismissing all claims against it for prematurely terminating rental car benefits, holding that the auto insurance policies in dispute were issued by a distinct, but affiliated, insurer, and that the reinsurer’s service and reinsurance agreements did not establish alter-ego control of the insurer.
September 12, 2025
Microcaptive Owners’ Bid For 5th Circuit Rehearing Denied In IRS Penalty Dispute

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing en banc filed by the owners of a microcaptive insurance company, leaving intact its decision that their microcaptive arrangements did not achieve risk distribution and therefore could not qualify as insurance for federal tax purposes.
September 10, 2025
California ‘Insurer Of Last Resort’ Sued For Allegedly Mishandling Fire Claim

LOS ANGELES — A homeowner whose property is covered by the California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) sued the insurance pool in state court, alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort” failed to adequately investigate and assess damage and issue payment after her home was damaged in the Palisades Fire.
September 10, 2025
Breach Of Contract Suit Dismissed Following Settlement Between Insurer, Reinsurer

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge ordered the dismissal without costs and without prejudice of an insurer’s breach of contract suit against its reinsurer after the parties reached a settlement.
September 09, 2025
New York Justice Grants Archdiocese’s Summary Judgment Motion Against Certain Insurers

NEW YORK — A New York justice on Sept. 8 granted the Archdiocese of New York’s motion for partial summary judgment against London Market Insurers (LMI) in the archdiocese’s coverage dispute arising from close to 1,700 underlying sexual abuse lawsuits, declaring that LMI must pay its solvent shares of its full policy limit of $200,000 per covered occurrence from May 1, 1975, to May 14, 1978, and $300,000 per covered occurrence from May 15, 1978, to Sept. 1, 1978, in excess of the policy’s $100,000-per-occurrence retention.
September 09, 2025
Reinsurers, Airline Repair Co. Jointly Propose Dismissal In Suit Over Plane Crash

TOLEDO, Ohio — Four reinsurers and an overhaul and repair company filed a proposed stipulation of dismissal with prejudice in an Ohio federal court in a case that the reinsurers filed over a fatal November 2019 aircraft crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo that resulted in multiple fatalities.
September 05, 2025
Settlement Reached In Reinsurance Dispute Over Sex Abuse Lawsuit Settlements

SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge dismissed a case over reimbursement for the defense and settlement of underlying suits that alleged sexual abuse and struck a pending motion for summary judgment after a reinsurer and an interlocal cooperative notified the court that they had reached a settlement.
September 03, 2025
Reinsurer Claims Guaranty Terms Are ‘Unconditional’ In Suit Dismissal Opposition

NEW YORK — A reinsurer opposes a Florida businessman’s motion to dismiss its breach of contract suit in a New York federal court centered on a personal guaranty of a defaulted $34.4 million loan, contending that the guaranty is “absolute and unconditional” and that repayment cannot be evaded because the dismissal arguments for lack of consideration and a violation of the statute of frauds are foreclosed by the guaranty’s language.
September 03, 2025
Dismissal Recommended In Putative Class Suit Challenging PRTs With Athene

BOSTON — The tally on dismissal motions in a wave of putative class actions retirees have filed over pension risk transfers (PRTs) would stand at two granted, one denied if the recommendation of a Massachusetts federal magistrate judge were taken; among other things, the retirees allege that the use of offshore captive reinsurers makes annuity providers riskier.