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Mealey's Reinsurance

  • July 26, 2024

    Ex-Underwriter’s Dismissal Bid Skirts Main Claim In Breach Of Contract Row

    MIAMI — Noting that he does not seek dismissal of a claim that he says the bulk of the allegations relate to, a former underwriter on July 25 moved in Florida federal court for dismissal of the other two claims in a suit over conduct that an insurer alleges included greatly exceeding his authority by executing a facultative retrocession agreement to cover a risk of more than $44 million.

  • July 26, 2024

    Plaintiffs Drop Lloyd’s From U.S. Suit Over Warehouse After English Ruling

    NEW YORK — A group of defendants whose presence was deemed to cause subject matter jurisdiction problems has been dismissed under a stipulation approved by a New York federal judge in a $41 million suit over whether policies obtained for a warehouse in Afghanistan are insurance or reinsurance and whether fraud or negligence were involved.

  • July 26, 2024

    Moratorium Granted In Rehabilitation Proceeding For Life Insurer, Subsidiaries

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge has granted a moratorium motion filed by the rehabilitator of a life insurer and the subsidiaries that reinsure its liabilities.

  • July 24, 2024

    Parties In Good Farming Practices Row Don’t Want Rebriefing Under Loper Bright

    LUBBOCK, Texas — In a brief joint notice ordered by a Texas federal judge, a farmer and regulators agree that the U.S. Supreme Court decision overruling a deference doctrine does not necessitate rebriefing their pending motions for summary judgment and judgment on the administrative record in a crop insurance case.

  • July 24, 2024

    7th Circuit Denies Dismissal Bid In Appeal Over Reinsurance Preclusion Row

    CHICAGO — Saying only that the appellee may argue lack of appellate jurisdiction in its upcoming brief, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied a dismissal motion in an appeal concerning whether mine subsidence claims are precluded.

  • July 22, 2024

    Plaintiff Sues Over Penalties Assessed In Connection With Captive Insurance Program

    PITTSBURGH — Demanding a jury trial, a Pittsburgh-based corporation has filed a suit in Pennsylvania federal court seeking a refund of its $989,000 partial payment of penalties that were assessed after the Internal Revenue Service decided that its involvement with a purported captive insurance program constituted tax shelter promotion.

  • July 22, 2024

    Decades-Old MOU Is Focus Of Lawsuit Over Reinsurance Billings Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — Suing two English reinsurers in a California court in a dispute over “millions” in reinsurance billings arising from asbestos bodily injury claims, an insurer alleges that an incorrect interpretation of a 1984 memorandum of understanding (MOU) is at the root of their refusal to pay.

  • July 19, 2024

    Receiver’s Determination Proposal In Reinsurer’s Liquidation Draws Feedback

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Standard of review has emerged as an issue of contention in Delaware Chancery Court filings concerning final determination procedures in the liquidation of a life and health reinsurer, with the receiver’s proposal that an abuse of discretion standard be used for his proofs of claim recommendations drawing objections.

  • July 19, 2024

    Discovery Deadline Unchanged In SEC Suit Against Owner Of Insurers In Receivership

    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A North Carolina federal magistrate judge granted in part a joint motion to extend the case schedule in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s suit alleging that an advisory services company, its former executive and its former owner, who also owned insurers now in receivership, defrauded clients of more than $75 million, allowing an extra 30 days for “additional fact discovery” but keeping the deadline for close of discovery.

  • July 18, 2024

    Dismissal Bid Disputed In Breach Of Contract Case Against Reinsurance Broker

    DALLAS — In dismissal filings in Texas federal court, parties in a breach of contract suit over losses associated with the collapse of Vesttoo Ltd. are disputing what the contract at issue required a reinsurance broker to do and whether two non-parties are necessary entities for the case.

  • July 18, 2024

    Former Hedge Fund Exec Is Sentenced To Probation In Securities Fraud Case

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The last of three former hedge fund executives that a New York federal jury found guilty of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud for an alleged scheme involving a reinsurer has been sentenced to two years of probation “with a special condition of 6 months home detention,” a $5,000 fine and a $200 special assessment.

  • July 18, 2024

    Preliminary Injunction Entered In Fraud Suit Over Secured Loans

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has entered a preliminary injunction against six defendants — including the parent company of Bermuda reinsurer 777 Re Ltd. — in a suit over fraud and racketeering allegations concerning a secured credit facility and related guaranty agreement.

  • July 18, 2024

    Reinsurer Communication, ‘Apex Doctrine’ Discovery Disputes Decided In Coverage Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — In separate orders resolving two discovery disputes in a breach of contract and bad faith suit over coverage for property damages wineries sustained during California wildfires, a California federal magistrate judge granted a motion to compel production of the insurer’s communications with reinsurers regarding the claims and denied an “apex doctrine” request to bar one of insurer’s employees from deposition.

  • July 17, 2024

    Parties In Reinsurance Row Dispute Proper Service For China-Based Defendants

    DES MOINES, Iowa — Service of process on China-based defendants is the focus of the latest dismissal filings in Iowa federal court in a dispute over reinsurance reimbursement, with the defendants and two members of the GuideOne family of insurance companies taking opposing positions regarding whether Iowa courts have embraced the “closely related party doctrine.”

  • July 16, 2024

    FEMA: 2022 Hurricane Will Be 2nd To Trigger Agency’s Reinsurance Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced that Hurricane Ian is the second covered event for which it expects to make recoveries from private reinsurers.

  • July 15, 2024

    Alabama Federal Judge Severs Insurer’s Row With Reinsurer Into 6 Separate Lawsuits

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Entering judgment in disputes between an insurer and its reinsurer based on rulings dating as far back as 2021, an Alabama federal judge on July 12 ordered the remaining claims and counterclaims severed into six separate cases.

  • July 15, 2024

    Judge: Diversity Jurisdiction Standards Not Met In $41M Suit Over Warehouse

    NEW YORK — In a ruling springing from what she called the “unique structure” of Certain Underwriters of Lloyd’s, London, a New York federal judge concluded that “the record does not contain sufficient allegations of fact to support complete diversity of citizenship” in a $41 million suit over whether policies obtained for a warehouse in Afghanistan are insurance or reinsurance and whether fraud or negligence were involved.

  • July 15, 2024

    Unspecified Settlement Noted In Suit Involving Purported Reinsurance Contract

    HONOLULU — Parties in a liability dispute over a purported reinsurance policy have reached an unspecified settlement agreement, according to a minute entry in Hawaii federal court.

  • July 10, 2024

    October Argument Set On Dismissal Motion In ERISA Pension Risk Transfer Case

    GREENBELT, Md. — A Maryland federal judge on July 9 scheduled Oct. 10 oral argument on the only fully briefed dismissal motion in the handful of similar recent putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

  • July 03, 2024

    Constructive Trust Claims Deadline Set In Liquidation Of Vesttoo And Affiliates

    WILMINGTON, Del. — In the Chapter 11 liquidation of Vesttoo Ltd. and its dozens of affiliates, a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge set a July 22 deadline for asserting constructive trust claims and overruled the liquidating trustee’s objection regarding compensation for special counsel retained by the debtors.

  • July 02, 2024

    Insurer Amends Complaint Against Former Underwriter After Jurisdictional Toss

    MIAMI — In an amended complaint dropping an initial plaintiff, an insurer sued a former underwriter in Florida federal court over conduct it alleges included greatly exceeding his authority by executing a facultative retrocession agreement to cover a risk of more than $44 million.

  • July 02, 2024

    Citing Prudential, Appellees Urge 3rd Circuit To Affirm Securities Row Dismissal

    PHILADELPHIA — Arguing primarily that City of Warren Police and Fire Ret. Sys. v. Prudential Fin. is dispositive, a reinsurer and three former executives urge the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold discovery and summary judgment rulings in a suit over allegations that they violated federal securities laws by omitting historical loss ratios from loss reserves disclosures.

  • July 02, 2024

    Appeal Over Confirmation Of Vesttoo’s Liquidation Is Voluntarily Dismissed

    WILMINGTON, Del. — An appeal of the order confirming the Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Vesttoo Ltd. and its dozens of affiliates has been voluntarily dismissed pursuant to a joint stipulation.

  • July 02, 2024

    English Justice Rules For Reinsurers In $41M Row Over Taliban Seizure

    LONDON — Agreeing with reinsurers on interpretation of a disputed exclusionary clause, an English justice granted them summary judgment in a dispute over liability for coverage of a warehouse the Taliban seized in Afghanistan in August 2021.

  • July 01, 2024

    Judge: Despite Policy Terms, Crop Insurance Suit Is Untimely Under FAA

    MCALLEN, Texas — Adopting a memorandum and recommendation (M&R) concluding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) takes precedence over the terms of a crop insurance policy, a Texas federal judge on June 28 dismissed a $181,609 dispute over insurance coverage for a 2017 onion crop as untimely.