Mealey's Reinsurance
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June 12, 2024
TPA Spat Arises In Liquidation; Receiver Proposes Dispute Procedures
WILMINGTON, Del. — A dispute over third-party administrator (TPA) services has arisen in the liquidation of life and health reinsurer Scottish Re (U.S.) Inc. (SRUS), with the longtime TPA asking the Delaware Chancery Court to confirm termination of the relevant agreement and the receiver seeking a determination of contempt against that TPA.
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June 11, 2024
English Justice: Aviation Insurance Disputes Should Proceed In Ukraine
LONDON — An English justice considering aviation insurance disputes over aircraft that remain in Ukraine airports closed after Russia’s invasion concluded “that the exclusive jurisdiction clauses [EJCs] in the reinsurance contracts are binding and enforceable, and apply,” so the claims should proceed in Ukrainian courts.
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June 10, 2024
4th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Suit Against Former Owner Of Insolvent Insurers
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 7 affirmed dismissal of a fraudulent concealment suit by a call center company against a holding company and its owner, Greg E. Lindberg, who also previously owned now-insolvent insurers and was convicted of bribery in an unrelated action, finding that the call center company failed to allege that Lindberg’s holding company knew about his unlawful conduct.
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June 10, 2024
Railroad’s Certification Bid In Reinsurance Preclusion Dispute Is Denied
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Citing judicial economy and a “question of law requirement,” an Illinois federal judge denied a railroad company’s motion seeking “two alternative grounds for appellate jurisdiction” in a suit over mine subsidence claims.
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June 07, 2024
9th Circuit Gives Agencies Win In Crop Insurance ‘Farming Activity’ Fight
SAN FRANCISCO — Ruling that the challenged interpretation of “farming activity” survives scrutiny under Auer v. Robbins and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a decision for government agencies in a crop insurance dispute involving federal reinsurance and the structure of a farming operation.
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June 03, 2024
Constructive Denial, Other Issues Disputed In Appeal Over Crop Insurance Probe
CINCINNATI — In a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals crop insurance case where farmers who sued over a “never-ending stalled investigation” are seeking partial vacatur of a dismissal ruling, federal regulators, the insurer and the farmers have filed briefs disputing issues including sovereign immunity waivers and constructive denial.
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May 23, 2024
COMMENTARY: Reinsurance Contract Access To Records And Cooperation Clauses And Privilege
By Robert M. Hall
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May 31, 2024
COMMENTARY: "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?”: Supreme Court Resolves FAA Circuit Split On Staying Arbitration
By Ed Mullins, James P. Duffy IV, Niyati Ahuja and Wardah A. Bari
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May 29, 2024
COMMENTARY: U.S. Supreme Court Limits Appeals From Decisions Enforcing Arbitration Agreements
By David N. Cinotti
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May 31, 2024
Emergency Relief Disputed In RICO, Fraud Suit Involving Reinsurer’s Parent Company
NEW YORK — In a May 30 reply brief in a fraud and racketeering lawsuit over a secured credit facility and related guaranty agreement, plaintiffs urge a New York federal court to order certain defendants — including the parent company of Bermuda reinsurer 777 Re Ltd. — “into receivership or freeze their assets.”
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May 31, 2024
Fund Defends Bad Faith, Other Claims Against Dismissal Bid In Reimbursement Case
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Urging an Alabama federal court to deny dismissal motions in a dispute over reimbursement for workers’ compensation claims, the plaintiff argues in part that a bad faith claim is proper because it “is not an ‘insurer’ under Alabama law and is not a party to a reinsurance contract with Defendants.”
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May 30, 2024
Retirees Urge Denial Of Dismissal Motion In ERISA Pension Risk Transfer Case
GREENBELT, Md. — Calling Thole v. U.S. Bank. N.A. “entirely distinguishable,” Lockheed Martin Corp. retirees urged a Maryland federal court to deny dismissal of their suit, which is one of a quartet of similar recent putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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May 30, 2024
Founder, Consultant Seek Acquittal Or 3rd Trial After Bribery Reconviction
STATESVILLE, N.C. — Following a retrial at which a federal jury in North Carolina again convicted an insurance and reinsurance management company’s founder and a consultant on bribery and another criminal count, the defendants on May 29 asked the court for a judgment of acquittal or a second retrial, arguing “insufficient evidence of a prohibited quo” and “instructional and evidentiary errors.”
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May 30, 2024
On Retrial, Federal Jury Again Convicts Founder, Consultant For Alleged Bribery Scheme
STATESVILLE, N.C. — On retrial, an insurance and reinsurance management company’s founder and a consultant were again each convicted on two criminal counts in connection with an alleged bribery scheme.
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May 30, 2024
Excess Loss Reinsurance Case With ERISA, Bad Faith Claims Closed On Deal Report
PITTSBURGH — After the parties reported that they reached an unspecified “tentative resolution,” a Pennsylvania federal judge administratively closed an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over an excess loss reinsurance contract.
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May 24, 2024
N.C. High Court Allows Supersedeas In Insurer’s Quest To Enforce $524M Judgment
RALEIGH, N.C. — Without providing explanation, the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered that a writ of supersedeas be “allowed” in an insurer’s suit seeking enforcement of a $524,009,051.26 judgment against Greg Lindberg, the founder of a multinational investment company who was recently convicted by a federal jury of a scheme to bribe North Carolina’s insurance commissioner.
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May 24, 2024
‘Two Acts’ Arguments Prevail In 1 Ruling In Reinsurance Allocation Dispute
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Rejecting numerous interpretations an insurer urged in arguing that the two events at issue in a coverage dispute be treated as one act, an Alabama federal judge on May 23 granted summary judgment for a reinsurer on a single breach of contract claim.
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May 22, 2024
Counsel Withdrawal Hearing Continued In SEC Suit Against Insolvent Insurers’ Owner
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A North Carolina federal magistrate judge granted, in part, a joint motion to appear remotely at a hearing scheduled 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 now-insolvent insurers, defrauded clients of more than $75 million, continuing the hearing and requiring the parties to file a joint status report by May 23.
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May 22, 2024
On Reconsideration, Judge Dismisses Implied Indemnity Claim Under State Law
JACKSON, Miss. — Granting a motion for reconsideration and dismissing a third-party complaint with prejudice in a dispute involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance, a Mississippi federal judge ruled that “[t]he implied indemnity claim necessarily fails under Mississippi law because it does not seek indemnification for passive negligence.”
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May 22, 2024
Parties In Bad Faith Suit Over Water Damage Report Unspecified Settlement
PHOENIX — After an insured, insurer and reinsurer reported an unspecified settlement in a bad faith suit over water damage, an Arizona federal judge ordered that the case be dismissed with prejudice unless the notice of settlement is withdrawn or a stipulation to dismissal is filed by June 17.
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May 22, 2024
Trustee Seeks Approval Of $2.9M Settlement In Insolvent Insurer’s Bankruptcy Case
WILMINGTON, Del. — A trustee for estates in an insolvent insurer’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding filed a motion to approve a $2.9 million settlement agreement between the parties, which includes a $100,000 payment to a broker who has assisted the trustee in managing the assets in the proceeding.
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May 17, 2024
Attorneys Get 25% Of $169M Exaction Class Settlement In ACA Reinsurance Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge on May 16 granted final approval of a class settlement under which the government will pay $169,022,397.28 to resolve part of a long-running lawsuit over the Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also awarding 25% of that sum, net of expenses, for attorney fees.
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May 16, 2024
U.S. High Court: With Request, Arbitrable Dispute Must Be Stayed, Not Dismissed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A case involving an arbitrable dispute must be stayed and not dismissed pending arbitration where a party has requested a stay, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 16 in a case brought by delivery drivers against the individual owners and managers of Intelliserve and related corporate entities (together, Intelliserve).
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May 16, 2024
Reinsurer’s $3.2M Appeal Bond Is Approved In Breach Of Contract Dispute
DALLAS — After entering an amended final judgment against a reinsurer for $2,866,423.97, including attorney fees and interest, a Texas federal magistrate judge granted the reinsurer’s unopposed motion for approval of a $3.2 million appeal bond and to stay execution and enforcement of the judgment pending resolution of its appeal.
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May 16, 2024
Judgment For Government Is Entered On Last Claims In Microcaptive Penalty Row
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Noting that the settlement terms include a tax attorney’s “payment of $5,200,000, inclusive of payments already made,” a Florida federal judge granted a joint motion for entry of judgment for the federal government on the remaining claim and counterclaim in a dispute over penalties for the tax attorney’s purported promotion of abusive tax shelters in the form of microcaptive insurance companies.