Mealey's Reinsurance
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August 29, 2019
9th Circuit Dismisses Reinsurer’s Appeal Over Final Arbitration Award
SAN FRANCISCO — On Aug. 27, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted a reinsurer’s voluntary dismissal of its appeal over the confirmation of a final arbitration award over fees allegedly owed under two reinsurance participation agreements (RPAs) (Mike Rose’s Auto Body Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company Inc., No. 19-16410, 9th Cir.).
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August 29, 2019
Judge Dismisses Breach Of Contract Case Against Nicaraguan Government, Insurer, Reinsurer
MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida on Aug. 27 dismissed an insured’s breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against the government of the Republic of Nicaragua, a Nicaraguan insurer and a reinsurer arising from denied coverage for a fire loss because there was a lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) (Farouk Morales v. The government of the Republic of Nicaragua, et al., No. 18-24301, S.D. Fla.).
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August 29, 2019
New York Federal Judge Dismisses Runoff Insurer’s Fraud Case As Untimely
NEW YORK — Finding a “lack of good cause” and “significant prejudice,” a federal judge in New York on Aug. 21 dismissed as untimely a runoff insurer’s fraudulent misrepresentation lawsuit against an investment bank and a financial services company for their alleged role in the investment of $320 million with the affiliates of a failed Ponzi scheme (In re Platinum-Beechwood Litigation, No. 18-6658, Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania v. Lincoln International LLC, et al., No. 19-07137, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141641).
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August 28, 2019
Woman Seeks Declaration As Judgment Creditor For Insurer’s Reinsurance Agreements’ Rights
JASPER, Ala. — In a complaint filed Aug. 27 in an Alabama federal court alleging negligence by the city of Jasper and its employees over sexual misconduct allegations in a jail, a woman also seeks a declaration that she is a judgment creditor as an assignee of the city’s insurer’s rights under reinsurance agreements (Whitley Goodson v. J.C. Poe Jr., et al., No. 19-1399, Jane Doe #3 v. J.C. Poe Jr., et al., No. 19-1392, Jane Doe #2 v. J.C. Poe Jr., et al., No. 19-1314, N.D. Ala.).
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August 27, 2019
Judge Denies Reconsideration Of Refusal To Dismiss Aiding, Abetting Claim Against Insider
NEW YORK — Finding that an alleged insider did not offer any reason as to why a decision should be reconsidered, a federal judge in New York on Aug. 20 upheld his ruling denying dismissal of an aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty claim over the insider’s role in what two hedge funds’ liquidators describe as “one of the most spectacular hedge fund collapses” (In re Platinum-Beechwood Litigation, No. 18-6658, Martin Trott, et al. v. Platinum Management [NY] LLC, et al., No. 18-10936, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142267).
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August 27, 2019
Railroad Company Awarded Judgment In Reinsurance Case Over Mine Damages
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In a reinsurance dispute over payments for mine subsidence damages, an Illinois federal magistrate judge on Aug. 26 found that an insurance fund failed to show that an alter-ego exception applies to the general rule of no liability for a railroad company’s stockholder and failed to prove that a de facto merger occurred (Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., No. 17-3199, C.D. Ill., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 144691).
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August 26, 2019
Reinsurers Oppose Insurer’s Rehabilitator’s Request To Remand $150M Dispute
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Reinsurers in two Aug. 21 filings argue that a federal judge in Puerto Rico should reject an insurer’s rehabilitator’s attempt to remand a case over $150 million in losses from two hurricanes to the insurer’s rehabilitation proceeding and, instead, send the matter to arbitration (Integrand Assurance Co. v. Everest Reinsurance Co., et al., No. 19-01111, D. Puerto Rico).
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August 16, 2019
Filed-Rate Doctrine Bars RICO Claims Against Insurer, Reinsurance Broker, Judge Says
TRENTON, N.J. — The filed-rate doctrine precludes homeowners’ claims against a reinsurance broker, an insurer and a mortgage company over alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act based on a lender-placed insurance (LPI) scheme involving kickbacks, including reinsurance premiums, a New Jersey federal judge ruled Aug. 15 (Edward Leo v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC of Delaware, et al., No. 17-05839, D. N.J., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137824).
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August 15, 2019
Judge Issues Protective Order In Case Between Reinsurers, Financial Service Company
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge on July 3 issued a protective order with regard to certain discovery material in a breach of contract dispute between reinsurers and a financial service company over a $26 million arbitration award (Vantage Commodities Financial Services I, LLC v. Assured Risk Transfer PCC, LCC, et al., No. 17-01451, D. D.C.).
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August 15, 2019
Reinsurer, Entities Object To Dismissal Of Counterclaims Against Runoff Insurer
NEW YORK — A reinsurer and its entities argue in a July 30 opposition that a New York federal court should deny a runoff insurer’s motion to dismiss their counterclaims for entitlement to advancement and indemnification under investment management agreements (IMAs) in a dispute over the misuse and mismanagement of $320 million (In re Platinum-Beechwood Litigation; Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania v. Beechwood Re Ltd., et al., No. 18-6658, S.D. N.Y.).
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August 14, 2019
Insurance Agency’s Principal: Reinsurer’s Request For Attorney Fees Must Be Reduced
SAN DIEGO — A principal for an insolvent insurance agency argues in an Aug. 9 opposition in a California federal court that it should reduce a reinsurer’s requested attorney fees of $213,771 to $116,600 and the $23,355 requested costs for experts to $4,006.20 in their dispute over the alleged fraudulent transfer of assets belonging to the agency to avoid payment of a $3.2 million judgment (Odyssey Reinsurance Co. v. Richard Keith Nagby, et al., No. 16-3038, S.D. Calif.).
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August 14, 2019
Magistrate Judge: Reinsurer, Affiliates Settle With Insureds In Breach Of Contract Dispute
OMAHA, Neb. — A Nebraska federal magistrate judge on Aug. 9 announced that insureds, a reinsurer and its affiliates have reached an agreement to settle their claims, counterclaims and third-party claims in a breach of contract dispute over a workers’ compensation program involving a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) (Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company Inc. v. Ramesh Pitamber & Kusum Pitamber, et al., No. 17-61, D. Neb.).
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August 13, 2019
Captive Insurer: Health Aides Fail To Identify Injury In Fact In Lost Wages Case
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A captive insurer and affiliates argue in an Aug. 9 reply brief to a New York federal court that home health aides “have been unable to identify any injury in fact, that is both individualized and concrete, and traceable” in their case alleging that a captive insurance and reinsurance scheme cheated the aides out of lost wages and benefits (Ynes M. Gonzalez de Fuente, et al. v. Preferred Home Care of New York LLC, et al., No. 18-6749, E.D. N.Y.).
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August 13, 2019
Judge Rules On Application Of Runoff Insurer’s Advancement Of Expenses To Executive
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Aug. 9 held that percentages for advancement of expenses by a runoff insurer apply to an investment company’s former executive’s full expenses, not considering insurance coverage, and that to receive advancement, the executive does not need to provide more documentation (In re: Platinum-Beechwood Litigation, No. 18-6658, David Levy v. Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, No. 19-3211, S.D. N.Y.).
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August 12, 2019
2 Out Of 3 Plaintiffs Settle Cases Over Reinsurance Participation Agreement
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — All but one plaintiff in two putative class actions said on Aug. 7 to a California federal judge that they have agreed in principal to settle disputes over a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) entered into by California businesses when buying a workers’ compensation program (Shasta Linen Supply Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Inc., et al., No. 16-158, Pet Food Express Ltd., et al. v. Applied Underwriters Inc., et al., No. 16-1211, E.D. Calif.).
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August 09, 2019
Reinsurer Asks 9th Circuit To Reverse Denial Of Motion To Intervene In $3.2M Case
SAN FRANCISCO — A reinsurer argues in its Aug. 7 opening brief that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should reverse a lower court’s order denying the reinsurer’s motion to intervene and remand to allow the reinsurer to file its complaint-in-intervention and proceed with its claims in a creditor’s dispute over a $3.2 million judgment (Odyssey Reinsurance Co. v. Richard Keith Nagby, et al. v. Knight Insurance Company Ltd., Nos. 19-55346 & 19-55347, 9th Cir.).
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August 09, 2019
Representative Seeks Comity From Bankruptcy Judge In Reinsurer’s Main Proceeding
NEW YORK — A foreign representative in a reinsurer’s bankruptcy proceeding in an Aug. 6 motion asks a New York bankruptcy judge for additional Chapter 15 relief granting international comity and directing all creditor claims to be adjudicated in a Cayman proceeding because the Cayman court has jurisdiction to determine how and when the claims can be adjudicated for the benefit of the estate and all creditors (In re Beechwood Re, No. 19-11560, Chapter 15, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.).
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August 09, 2019
Judge Dismisses Fund’s Case For Tortious Interference With Reorganization Scheme
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Aug. 8 signed a hedge fund’s notice of voluntary dismissal of its case alleging that an insurer tortiously interfered with its contractual rights regarding notes purchased from a reinsurer by initiating reorganization proceedings under Irish law (ESM Fund I, L.P. v. Ambac Assurance UK Ltd., No. 19-5066, S.D. N.Y.).
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August 08, 2019
Commissioner Asks To Quash Subpoena In Reinsurer’s Breach Of Contract Case
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California insurance commissioner on Aug. 6 asked a California federal court to quash a deposition subpoena in a breach of contract lawsuit filed by a reinsurer and its affiliates in a Nebraska federal court over a workers’ compensation program involving a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) (Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company Inc. v. Ramesh Pitamber & Kusum Pitamber, et al., No. 19-mc-00129, E.D. Calif.).
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August 08, 2019
Third-Party Defendants Seek Dismissal Of Runoff Insurer’s Aiding, Abetting Claims
NEW YORK — Third-party defendants argue in separate Aug. 5 reply briefs to a New York federal court that a runoff insurer fails to allege aiding and abetting claims in a “massive fraudulent scheme” over the mishandling of $320 million (In re Platinum-Beechwood Litigation, No. 18-6658, Melanie L. Cyganowski v. Beechwood Re Ltd., et al., Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania v. PB Investment Holdings Ltd., et al., No. 18-12018, S.D. N.Y.).