Mealey's Reinsurance
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October 12, 2023
After 8th Circuit Upholds Ruling In Qui Tam Case, Relators Seek Panel Rehearing
ST. LOUIS — Arguing that an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel “overlooked facts in the record” and “misapprehended the import” of United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., relators asked the panel to rehear the qui tam crop insurance case in which a ruling against them was upheld.
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October 10, 2023
Trustees File Notice Of Appeal In ERISA Row Over Imputed Withdrawal Liability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The trustees of a multiemployer pension plan filed an Oct. 9 notice of appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a ruling dismissing their lawsuit against a Bermuda insurance and reinsurance company over $934 million in withdrawal liability.
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October 05, 2023
Parties Make Dismissal Arguments In Crop Insurance Row Over Long-Pending Claims
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Arguing that “if this case is not ripe, it never will be,” plaintiffs who sued over crop insurance claims that they say have not been adjusted in more than three years mostly opposed a dismissal motion filed in Michigan federal court by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. (FCIC).
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October 05, 2023
Fronting Company Sues Captive Reinsurer Over $2.2M In ‘Misdirected Payments’
NEW YORK — Seeking to hold a captive reinsurer responsible for a penalty, a fronting company has sued in New York federal court over what it calls $2,207,896 in misdirected payments.
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October 05, 2023
After Transfer, Texas Federal Judge Orders Refiling In Reinsurer’s Breach Suit
FORT WORTH, Texas — Criticizing the formatting requirements of the transferring court and incorporating an image of a “Welcome to Texas” sign, a Texas federal judge ordered all pending motions dismissed without prejudice and the complaint refiled in a case involving allegations of a fraudulent scheme to inflate provisional commissions and breach of various agreements.
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October 04, 2023
Unsecured Creditors In Vesttoo Chapter 11 Case Get Leave To Conduct Discovery
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the jointly administered Chapter 11 case of Vesttoo Ltd. and 48 affiliated entities has been granted leave by a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge to conduct discovery.
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October 04, 2023
Parties Spar Over Motion To Dismiss Counterclaim In Purported Reinsurance Row
HONOLULU — Asserting in a reply brief that it is “critically important” for the terms of a reinsurance agreement to be memorialized in writing, a plaintiff expanded on its arguments for a Hawaii federal court to dismiss a breach of contract counterclaim in a dispute over a purported reinsurance policy.
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October 04, 2023
Reinsurer Largely Loses Privilege Row Involving Allocation Modeling Documents
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Finding in part that allocation modeling documents in a discovery dispute are not privileged, a New York federal magistrate judge mostly denied a reinsurer’s motion for a protective order in the breach suit involving an environmental losses settlement.
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October 03, 2023
Plaintiffs Win Remand Of Coverage Row Over Aircraft Leased To Russian Airline
MIAMI — Citing “the complete alienage jurisdiction rule,” a Florida federal judge ordered remand to a Florida state court in a coverage dispute over aircraft that a Russian airline refused to return after the invasion of Ukraine.
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September 29, 2023
Dismissal Bid Fails In Excess Loss Reinsurance Row With ERISA, Bad Faith Claims
PITTSBURGH — Ruling the arguments “more appropriately handled at the summary judgment stage,” a Pennsylvania federal judge on Sept. 28 denied a dismissal motion in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit over an excess loss reinsurance contract.
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September 29, 2023
2nd Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Investors’ Complaint Against GE
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal judge’s dismissal of shareholder claims against General Electric Co. (GE) and certain of its executives, agreeing that the investors had failed to adequately plead scienter in their claims that the GE defendants had made misstatements regarding the company’s financial condition.
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September 28, 2023
Offset Applied In Finalizing Damages Against Collapsed Hedge Fund’s Co-Founder
NEW YORK — In a ruling involving interpretation of what he called a “somewhat ambiguous” part of a New York offset law, a New York federal judge reduced what would otherwise have been a liability of more than $15.2 million against a co-founder of the collapsed hedge fund Platinum Partners to just under $2.8 million.
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September 27, 2023
8th Circuit Affirms Ruling Against Relators In Qui Tam Crop Insurance Case
ST. LOUIS — In a ruling that drew a partial concurrence, an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld a challenged ruling in a qui tam crop insurance case, saying in part that “gaps in proof are fatal” to the plaintiffs’ claims under the False Claims Act (FCA).
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September 26, 2023
Judge: Post-Judgment Garnishment Bids Fail In Excessive Force Case
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Ruling in part that the Oklahoma doctrine of “reasonable expectations” does not apply and that the relevant coverage agreement is not ambiguous, an Oklahoma federal judge on Sept. 25 ended post-judgment garnishment bids against an insurer and reinsurer in an excessive force case pertaining to a traffic stop.
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September 19, 2023
High Court Review Sought For Reverse-Preemption Ruling In Insurance Info Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arguing in part that the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals removed “large pieces of insurance regulation from the purview of states, where it has long been placed and confirmed by the McCarran-Ferguson Act [MFA],” the Delaware Department of Insurance (DDOI) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a corporate privacy case involving microcaptive insurance company information.
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September 19, 2023
Remand To Florida Court Argued In Coverage Row Over Leased Aircraft
MIAMI — Arguing in a reply brief that “in lawsuits between parties of different countries, there is no federal diversity jurisdiction,” plaintiffs in a coverage dispute over aircraft that a Russian airline refused to return after the invasion of Ukraine urge a Florida federal court to remand the case to Florida state court.
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September 18, 2023
Justice Denies Protective Order, Disqualification Bid In Reinsurance Row
NEW YORK — Addressing two motions relating to an audit agreement, a New York justice denied both a liquidator’s request for a protective order regarding certain previously produced documents and reinsurers’ bid to disqualify the liquidator’s counsel.
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September 18, 2023
Parties File Joint Pretrial Stipulation In Row Over Reinsurance Distributor Deal
MIAMI — Parties in a suit over the acquisition of a managed health care reinsurance distribution company have filed a joint pretrial stipulation in Florida federal court outlining their positions in advance of a bench trial.
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September 15, 2023
Unsecured Creditors In Vesttoo Chapter 11 Case Want To Conduct Discovery
WILMINGTON, Del. — Arguing that it “is the only independent fiduciary capable of conducting a thorough and conflict-free investigation,” the Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the jointly administered Chapter 11 case of Vesttoo Ltd. and 48 affiliated entities on Sept. 14 asked a Delaware federal bankruptcy court for leave to conduct discovery.
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September 15, 2023
2nd Circuit Won’t Stay Bermuda Arbitration Pending Appeal Over Bias Allegation
NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel has denied a motion it “construed as seeking to enjoin arbitration pending appeal” in a bid to replace one arbitrator in a proceeding concerning two reinsurance contracts between Bermuda-based entities.
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September 15, 2023
Claim Added In Coverage Dispute Over Loss Of Patent Litigation Counsel
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mostly granting two motions, a Tennessee federal magistrate judge on Sept. 14 implemented the parties’ proposed schedule in a coverage dispute over loss of patent litigation counsel, also allowing the plaintiffs to add allegations and a promissory estoppel claim.
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September 14, 2023
Judge Rules For Government In Challenge Over Farming Practices Determination
FARGO, N.D. — Saying a reconsideration determination that a farm didn’t follow good farming practices (GFP) was neither “arbitrary and capricious” nor “contrary to the substantial weight of the evidence,” a North Dakota federal judge granted summary judgment against the farm in a dispute stemming from a crop insurance policy reinsured by the government.
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September 12, 2023
ERISA-Imputed Withdrawal Liability Suit Is Dismissed On Jurisdictional Grounds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rejecting objections filed by the trustees of a multiemployer pension plan and declining “to adopt a less rigorous standard for general personal jurisdiction,” a District of Columbia federal judge on Sept. 11 dismissed a lawsuit against a Bermuda insurance and reinsurance company over $934 million in withdrawal liability.
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September 12, 2023
Judicial Estoppel Bid Doesn’t Stop Transfer Of Reinsurer’s Breach Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — Concluding that judicial estoppel doesn’t apply and a reinsurer failed to meet its “burden of showing why the court should not transfer the case to the agreed-upon forum,” a California federal judge granted the defendants’ motion to transfer the case involving allegations of a fraudulent scheme to inflate provisional commissions and breach of various agreements.
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September 08, 2023
Judge Rules For Reinsurer In Dispute Over Ultimate Net Loss Provision
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Agreeing with a reinsurer regarding interpretation of an ultimate net loss contract provision, an Alabama federal judge granted summary judgment against an insurer on a single breach of contract claim in a complex suit.