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

Mealey's Reinsurance

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.
August 28, 2025
Discovery Stay Sought Pending Dismissal Rulings In Captive Pool Restructuring Case

WILMINGTON, Del. — The defendants in three related cases concerning a disputed captive reinsurance pool seek a stay of discovery in the Delaware Chancery Court pending the resolution of motions to dismiss the complaints, arguing that the pool’s regulatory unwinding already provided the primary relief sought and thus rendered most of the plaintiffs’ claims and pending discovery requests moot.
August 28, 2025
5th Circuit: Reinsurer’s Late Notice Of Litigation Constitutes Prejudice

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a Texas federal court’s ruling in a reinsurer’s appeal of a $2,866,423.97 judgment that includes attorney fees, ruling that an insurer’s months-late notice of its involvement in underlying class action litigation constituted a material breach of its quota share treaty with the reinsurer and violated the contract’s notice provision, depriving the reinsurer of its right to participate in the defense and establishing prejudice as a matter of law.
August 28, 2025
Processor Seeks Oral Argument In Challenge To Reinsurer’s Arbitration Award

NEW YORK — A food processing company asked a New York federal judge to schedule oral argument on its petition to vacate portions of an arbitration award granted to a reinsurer, as well as the reinsurer’s cross-motion to confirm the award, related to a poultry rendering facility fire and subsequent reinsurance dispute.
August 25, 2025
Discovery, Summary Judgment Rulings Vacated In Securities Row Against Reinsurer

PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a lower court’s discovery and summary judgment rulings in investors’ suit against a reinsurer and three former executives over allegations that they violated federal securities laws by omitting historical loss ratios from loss reserves disclosures, finding those omitted historical loss ratios to be material and that discovery had not been completed.
August 21, 2025
Notice Of Compensation Hearing Issued In Insurance Magnate Money Laundering Case

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a docket-only entry, a North Carolina federal court issued a notice advising of a hearing on a court-appointed special master’s motion seeking to approve compensation for him and his advisers in a case in which insurance magnate Greg Lindberg pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy regarding his $2 billion scheme to defraud insurers and policyholders by funneling money through his extensive global network of insurance companies and was convicted on retrial in a related criminal proceeding.
August 20, 2025
Farmers’ Extracontractual Damages Claim Amended To Dismissal Without Prejudice

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge partially granted farmers’ motion for reconsideration of a September 2024 ruling dismissing their claim for extracontractual damages against a crop insurer, amending the dismissal of the claim to be without prejudice, citing a related pending case against federal regulators that could potentially invalidate the rationale for the original dismissal.
August 20, 2025
Stay Of Proceedings Granted In Reinsurance Dispute To Reach Settlement Agreement

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge granted a motion to stay proceedings for 30 days after the parties informed the court in their motion that they have “gained momentum” toward reaching a settlement in a case centered on allegations that an insurer withheld owed funds from a reinsurer.
August 19, 2025
Producer’s Reconsideration Bid On Discovery Limits Denied In Cleanup Cost Row

PADUCAH, Ky. — A Kentucky federal judge denied a ferrosilicon producer’s motion to reconsider a prior ruling that limited the scope of the producer’s issued deposition topics, holding that the producer’s objections were largely repetitions of prior arguments already considered and addressed by the court and that claims-handling discovery is inappropriate at the current stage of litigation, which is centered on a reinsurance contract in a dispute over pollution-related cleanup costs.
August 19, 2025
Insurer Seeks Reconsideration In Suit Over Forced Deal Involving Reinsurer

NEW YORK — An insurer argues in a New York federal court that reconsideration of dismissal of its federal securities law claims is warranted because the court overlooked laws and facts and disregarded allegations that misrepresentations and transactional conduct tied to the insurer’s compelled April 2024 purchase of the equity of reinsurer JRG Reinsurance Co. Ltd. occurred domestically.