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Mealey's Reinsurance

  • October 30, 2018

    Reinsurer, Insurer Argue Over Bifurcated Discovery In Breach Of Contract Suit

    DETROIT — A reinsurer and insurer in separate Oct. 12 briefs argue for and against bifurcated discovery in a breach of contract Michigan federal court case over coverage for asbestos claims (Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co. v. Transatlantic Reinsurance Co., No. 18-11966, E.D. Mich.).

  • October 30, 2018

    Nicaraguan Insurer, New York Reinsurer Sued For Breach Of Contract

    MIAMI — The owner of a plastics manufacturing plant that suffered a fire loss sued the government of the Republic of Nicaragua, a Nicaraguan insurer and a New York reinsurer on Oct. 17 in a Florida federal court for breach of contract and unjust enrichment (Farouk Morales v. The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua, et al., No. 18-24301, S.D. Fla.).

  • October 30, 2018

    Reinsurer Opposes Class Certification In Dispute Over Workers’ Comp Program

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A reinsurer and its affiliates in an Oct. 12 opposition brief ask that a California federal court deny classification in two putative class actions over a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) of hundreds of California businesses that bought a workers’ compensation program (Shasta Linen Supply Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Inc., et al., Nos. 16-00158 & 16-01211, E.D. Calif.).

  • October 29, 2018

    High Court Denies Review Of Ruling As To Insurers, Reinsurers’ 5th Amendment Rights

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 29 denied certiorari review of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that the U.S. government's termination of insurers and reinsurers’ lawsuits pursuant to a claims settlement agreement between it and Libya and its subsequent legislation and executive order did not constitute a compensable taking under the Fifth Amendment (Aviation & General Insurance Company Ltd., et al. v. United States, No. 17-1164, U.S. Sup.).

  • October 26, 2018

    Judge Sets Discovery Deadline In Fraud Case Against Life Insurer

    BALTIMORE — In a dispute over a life insurer’s alleged hiding of its financial status under captive reinsurance schemes and the insurer’s cost of insurance (COI) rate increases, a Maryland federal judge on Oct. 24 scheduled the discovery deadline in the case for March 8, 2019 (Leslie S. Rich v. William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York, No. 17-2026, D. Md.).

  • October 26, 2018

    Investor Dismisses Bank From Case Over Depletion Of Life Insurers’ Assets

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In a Kansas federal court lawsuit alleging that life insurers and a financial services firm depleted the life insurers’ surplus assets by reinsuring their risks with one another rather than using “arm’s-length reinsurance treaties,” a total value annuity investor voluntarily dismissed a bank without prejudice on Oct. 24 (Albert Ogles v. Security Benefit Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-02265, D. Kan.).

  • October 25, 2018

    Judge Orders Production Of Insurer’s Reinsurance In Defects Coverage Case

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A South Carolina federal judge on Oct. 24 declined to stay a coverage dispute over a defectively constructed project for an in camera review and instead ordered an insurer to produce documents pertaining to reinsurance and reserves (ContraVest Inc., et al. v. Mt. Hawley Insurance Co., No. 15-00304, D. S.C., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182196).

  • October 24, 2018

    ACA Reinsurance Program Payments Not A Tax, 4th Circuit Rules

    RICHMOND, Va. — A health care plan’s payments under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) reinsurance program do not constitute a tax, a panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Oct. 23 (The Electrical Welfare Trust Fund, et al. v. United States, et al., No. 17-1937, 4th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 29856).

  • October 22, 2018

    Panel: Reinsurer’s Arbitration Provisions Are Unenforceable Based On Violation

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A violation by a reinsurer and related entities of California Insurance Code Section 11658 renders arbitration provisions unenforceable, a California appeals panel held Oct. 19, affirming a lower court’s denial of motions to compel arbitration of a dispute involving workers’ compensation insurance (Low Desert Empire Pizza Inc., et al. v. Applied Underwriters Inc., et al., No. E067081, Calif. App., 4th Dist., Div. 2, 2018 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7154).

  • October 19, 2018

    Plaintiff Opposes Dismissal Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Against Reinsurer

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A reinsurer’s motion to dismiss breach of contract, bad faith and fraud claims should be denied, according to a plaintiff’s Oct. 16 brief in an Alabama federal court over the denial of benefits under four long-term disability insurance policies (Horace R. Theriot Jr. v. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 18-688, M.D. Ala.).

  • October 18, 2018

    Reinsurers Seek Partial Dismissal Of Run-Off Insurer’s Mismanagement Lawsuit

    NEW YORK — In a run-off insurer’s New York federal case alleging mismanagement and misuse of $320 million in investments, reinsurers, their affiliates and current and former owners, officers and insiders in an Oct. 15 motion seek partial dismissal of all claims that are duplicative of the ones for breach of contract (Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania v. Beechwood Re Ltd., et al., No. 18-06658, S.D. N.Y.).

  • October 18, 2018

    Reinsurer Asks Court To Confirm Arbitration Award Against Insolvent Insurer

    CHICAGO — Opposing a request for dismissal by an insolvent insurer’s liquidator, a reinsurer argues in an Oct. 15 brief that an Illinois federal court has jurisdiction to confirm an arbitration award for $437,000 in attorney fees (Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. v. Jennifer Hammer, No. 18-05642, N.D. Ill.).

  • October 9, 2018

    COMMENTARY: An Update: Should Follow The Settlements Be Implied Into Reinsurance Contracts?

    By Robert M. Hall

  • October 18, 2018

    Reinsurer: Insurer Does Not Oppose Petition To Confirm Arbitration Award

    NEW YORK — A reinsurer tells a New York federal court in a Sept. 11 letter that an insurer is not opposing its petition to confirm an arbitration award in a dispute over denied billings in a retrocessional reinsurance relationship (Continental Insurance Co. v. AXA Versicherung AG, No. 18-7349, S.D. N.Y.).

  • October 17, 2018

    Pennsylvania High Court Denies Review Of Expenses Under Reinsurance Certificates

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Oct. 15 declined to review a lower court’s ruling that reinsurance facultative certificates covered defense expenses in excess of a liability cap and that insurers were entitled to interest on certain proofs of loss for asbestos claims issued before 2013 (Century Indemnity Co. v. OneBeacon Insurance Co., No. 68 EM 2018, Pa. Sup., 2018 Pa. LEXIS 5398).

  • October 16, 2018

    Judge Closes Insolvent Insurer’s Receiver Case Over Actuary Services Failure

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge on Oct. 12 administratively closed a dispute between an insolvent insurer’s receiver and an actuary services provider over allegations for failure to properly investigate and accurately report on the insurer’s financial standing and reinsurance contracts (Oklahoma ex rel., John D. Doak v. CTK Actuarial Services Inc., No. 17-371, W.D. Okla.).

  • October 15, 2018

    Insurer Tells Federal Court Reinsurer Failed To Show Late Notice Defense

    NEW YORK — In a New York federal reinsurance coverage dispute for a trucking accident, a ceding insurer argues in an Oct. 11 partial summary judgment and opposition motion that a reinsurer failed to establish a late notice defense as well as prejudice (Endurance Assurance Corp. v. Florists’ Mutual Insurance Co., et al., No. 16-09955, S.D. N.Y.).

  • October 12, 2018

    Reconsideration Sought By Reinsurer On Collateral Estoppel, Standing Issues

    UTICA, N.Y. — In a dispute with an insurer over settlements of asbestos claims, a reinsurer in an Oct. 10 motion seeks reconsideration of a New York federal judge’s ruling because controlling evidence on the collateral estoppel issue and controlling decisions on the standing issue were overlooked (Utica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Century Indemnity Co., No. 13-995, N.D. N.Y.).

  • October 12, 2018

    Insurer Seeks Rehearing On 2nd Circuit’s Ruling On Reinsurer’s Liability

    NEW YORK — An insurer in an Oct. 9 petition asks for a rehearing of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that a reinsurer’s liability is expense‐supplemental because the reinsurer’s obligations under reinsurance contracts follow the insurer’s expense‐supplemental obligations under umbrella policies (Utica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Clearwater Insurance Co., Nos. 16-2535 & 16-2824, 2nd Cir.).

  • October 12, 2018

    Reinsurers Give Notice Of Appeal In RICO Dispute Over Car Dealer’s Estate

    EL PASO, Texas — A Texas federal judge’s dismissal of a federal civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claim from a lawsuit concerning a deceased car dealer’s estate is being appealed, according to an Oct. 9 notice given by two offshore reinsurers and their owner (Richard C. Poe II, et al. v. Anthony E. Bock, et al., No. 17-00232, W.D. Texas).