Mealey's Reinsurance
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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June 28, 2024
Jurisdictional Challenges Meet Mixed Fate In Suit Over Alleged Fraud Scheme
NEW YORK — Largely focusing on personal jurisdiction, a New York federal judge granted one refiled dismissal motion and partly granted another in an insurer’s suit over “an alleged massive and complex fraud that resulted in losses exceeding $135 million.”
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June 28, 2024
Citing Spizzirri, Insurer Asks 7th Circuit To Dismiss Appeal In Arbitration Estoppel Row
CHICAGO — Arguing that Smith v. Spizzirri renders deficient “the basis for this Court’s appellate jurisdiction,” an insurer filed a June 27 motion in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to dismiss reinsurers’ fully briefed appeal concerning the effects of prior arbitration involving asbestos-related liabilities.
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June 27, 2024
2nd Circuit Dismisses Bid To Overturn Revival Of Adversary Proceeding
NEW YORK — In a summary order citing a lack of appellate jurisdiction, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel dismissed consolidated appeals over revival of an adversary proceeding in federal bankruptcy court relating to allegations of fraudulent conveyances from a reinsurer in liquidation.
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June 27, 2024
Suit Against Former Underwriter Gets Quick Toss Over Jurisdictional Issues
MIAMI — Outlining “two deficiencies” in the jurisdictional allegations, a Florida federal judge dismissed without prejudice a suit that two affiliated companies filed against a former underwriter over conduct they allege included greatly exceeding his authority by executing a facultative retrocession agreement to cover a risk of more than $44 million.
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June 26, 2024
2 Stipulated Dismissals Granted In Insurer’s Suit Over Asbestos Liabilities Row
OMAHA, Neb. — Two defendants referred to as reinsurers in a suit National Indemnity Co. (NICO) filed over a $157.2 million settlement it reached with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposures have been dismissed with prejudice under a joint stipulation that a Nebraska federal judge granted June 24.
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June 26, 2024
Special Discovery Master Does In Camera Review In Indemnification Case
TRENTON, N.J. — Following in camera review in New Jersey federal court in a dispute between insurers and reinsurers over indemnification for asbestos bodily injury claims, a special discovery master directed insurers to produce all or part of roughly two-thirds of the sample documents he considered.
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June 25, 2024
DOL Reports To Congress On Its Review Of Pension Risk Transfer Guidance
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a June 24 report to Congress noting the increasing use of pension risk transfers (PRTs) and the growth of reinsurance activity in the life insurance industry, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) said more exploration is needed before deciding whether some factors in guidance it issued nearly three decades ago “need revision or supplementation and whether additional guidance should be developed.”
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June 25, 2024
Breach Of Contract Case Stayed In Row Between Insurer In Rehab And Malta Company
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina federal court granted an insurer in rehabilitation’s motion to stay the breach of contract case it filed against a Malta-based company for the company’s failure to make payments on a loan, staying the case until cross-motions for summary judgment are resolved in a related pending consolidated case.
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June 24, 2024
Former Underwriter Is Sued Over Facultative Retrocession Deal, Other Allegations
MIAMI — Asserting claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, two affiliated companies sued a former underwriter in Florida federal court over conduct they allege included greatly exceeding his authority by executing a facultative retrocession agreement to cover a risk of more than $44 million.
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June 21, 2024
TRO Extended In RICO, Fraud Suit Involving Reinsurer’s Parent Company
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order (TRO) entered against the parent company of Bermuda reinsurer 777 Re Ltd. and other defendants in a fraud and racketeering lawsuit over a secured credit facility and related guaranty agreement.
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June 21, 2024
Revised $195,000 Class Deal Gets Initial OK In Suit Alleging Fraudulent Policies
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Ruling various revisions sufficient, a California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $195,000 settlement in a suit over alleged fraud involving captive reinsurance, also modifying the preliminarily certified settlement class.
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June 20, 2024
Insurer In Rehab Gets Stay In Breach Of Contract Suit Against Investment Firm
RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina federal court granted an insurer in rehabilitation’s motion to stay the breach of contract case it filed against a Malta-based investment firm for the firm’s purported failure to make payments on a loan, staying the case until cross-motions for summary judgment are resolved in a related pending consolidated case.