Mealey's Reinsurance
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February 06, 2024
Judge: Late Fraudulent Joinder Argument Doesn’t Remedy ‘Untimely’ Removal
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — A breach of contract case involving a quota share reinsurance agreement is back in an Indiana court after an Indiana federal judge granted a remand motion, saying in part that the “Defendants’ incantation of fraudulent joinder at this late stage does not remedy” the untimeliness of their removal.
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February 05, 2024
Aon Entities Seek Dismissal Of Insurers’ Suit Over Vesttoo Dealings
NEW YORK — Contending in part that the August 2022 announcement of a $1 billion partnership between Vesttoo Ltd. and Clear Blue Insurance Group undercuts the framing of the complaint against them, Aon PLC (Aon) and Aon Insurance Managers (Bermuda) Ltd. have moved in New York state court for dismissal.
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February 01, 2024
Notice Of Appeal Is Filed In Securities Suit Involving Reinsurer’s Loss Ratios
PHILADELPHIA — Shareholders have filed a notice of appeal to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals over summary judgment and other rulings in a suit over allegations that a reinsurer and some of its former executives violated federal securities laws.
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February 01, 2024
Late Objection Bid Draws Opposition In Vesttoo Chapter 11 Cases
WILMINGTON, Del. — Asserting that “Vesttoo’s defrauded creditors have overwhelmingly voted to accept” a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Vesttoo Ltd. and dozens of its affiliates, two creditors are among the entities urging a Delaware federal bankruptcy court to reject a motion to allow an untimely objection to claims against one of the affiliates.
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January 31, 2024
Service Is Key Issue In Suit Against Reinsurer For Settlement Reimbursement
OMAHA, Neb. — Whether a Brazil-based reinsurer was properly served has become a key issue in a suit seeking reimbursement for a settlement reached with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposure, with an insurer telling the Nebraska federal court in a reply brief that precedent supports its bid for default judgment.
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January 31, 2024
4th Circuit Hears $524M Guaranty Case Involving Reinsurance Agreement
RICHMOND, Va. — In oral argument before a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel, the issuer of a guaranty contended that a judgment against him enforcing an arbitration award for $524 million plus interest should be overturned, and a Puerto Rico-based insurer countered that the terms of the agreements in question and res judicata both support affirmation.
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January 31, 2024
Bermuda Entities Spar In 2nd Circuit Over Bid To Revive Arbitrator Bias Row
NEW YORK — Arguing in part that “[s]ubject matter jurisdiction could not be clearer,” a Bermuda-based reinsurer urged the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reject a bid to revive a case involving an arbitrator and two reinsurance contracts with a Bermuda-based insurer.
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January 30, 2024
Vice Chancellor Mostly Denies Dismissal In Suit Over Asset Dissipation
WILMINGTON, Del. — Ruling on four long-pending motions in a suit over a complex asset-swap transaction that the plaintiffs argue resulted in the “dissipation of at least $250 million,” a Delaware vice chancellor granted dismissal only as to a claim of fraudulent trading under Cayman Islands law.
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January 29, 2024
Apple Entities Win Partial Summary Judgment In Oregon Excise Tax Row
SALEM, Ore. — Granting partial summary judgment for Apple Inc. and subsidiaries in a corporation excise tax case, an Oregon Tax Court judge rejected the Oregon Department of Revenue’s theory that a subsidiary reinsurer “became subject to Oregon’s taxing jurisdiction because” the reinsurance contract “amounted to hiring . . . an in-state agent.”
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January 25, 2024
Plaintiffs Make Class Certification Arguments In DUFTA Row Involving Insurer
WILMINGTON, Del. — Asserting that their Delaware Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (DUFTA) claims “focus exclusively on Defendants’ conduct and circumstances,” policyholders and agents challenging an alleged scheme to strip capital from an insurance subsidiary on which more than 1 million policyholders depend for long-term care (LTC) disability benefits urged the Delaware Chancery Court to certify their proposed class.
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January 25, 2024
Vesttoo Bankruptcy Debtors: Proceeding In Israel Would Be More Efficient
WILMINGTON, Del. — A variety of objections have been lodged in Delaware federal bankruptcy court regarding the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors’ Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Vesttoo Ltd. and 48 affiliates, including one in which the debtors argue that the cases should be dismissed “so that more efficient insolvency proceedings can be filed in Israel.”
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January 25, 2024
Judge Rejects Pizza Chain’s Bid To Ditch Third-Party Implied Indemnity Claim
JACKSON, Miss. — A third-party “claim for implied indemnity” against Domino’s Pizza LLC and related entities remains after a Mississippi federal judge otherwise dismissed a third-party complaint in the dispute involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance.
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January 23, 2024
Stipulation Ends Suit Over Alleged ‘Raid’ Of Facultative Reinsurance Brokerage
CHICAGO — After all parties filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, an Illinois federal judge terminated a breach of contract and Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) suit over an alleged “raid” of a facultative reinsurance brokerage.
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January 23, 2024
Imputing Contacts, Judge Finds Personal Jurisdiction In Reinsurance Row
OMAHA, Neb. — Imputation is appropriate at this stage and, therefore, so is personal jurisdiction over a defendant that describes itself as “an events and hospitality company,” a Nebraska federal judge said in a Jan. 22 ruling denying dismissal of a suit involving a reinsurance contract and a settlement with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposures.
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January 22, 2024
Insolvent Insurers’ Owner Opposes Injunction After Ordered To Pay $576M Judgment
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The owner of insolvent insurers filed a brief in a North Carolina federal court, opposing an insurer’s motion for an injunction to prevent the owner from transferring assets after a North Carolina federal judge issued a judgment requiring the owner to pay more than $576 million pursuant to a personal guaranty for a reinsurance agreement.
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January 18, 2024
Committee Seeks To Bar Some Claimants In Vesttoo Cases From Liquidation Vote
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors on Jan. 17 asked a Delaware federal bankruptcy court to reclassify 49 disputed claims so the joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) that submitted them can’t vote on the committee’s Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Vesttoo Ltd. and 48 affiliates.
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January 18, 2024
Parties Stipulate To Dismissal Of Appeal In ERISA Row Over Imputed Withdrawal Liability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Multiemployer pension plan trustees and a Bermuda insurance and reinsurance company have stipulated to voluntary dismissal with prejudice of the trustees’ appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding dismissal of their lawsuit over $934 million in withdrawal liability.
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January 17, 2024
Parties Stipulate To Dismissal In Defense Costs Row Involving Liquidation
NEW CASTLE, Del. — All claims and counterclaims in a defense costs dispute in the Delaware Superior Court that centers on whether reinsurer Alpha Re’s 2018 liquidation triggered an exclusion have been dismissed without prejudice under a stipulation in which the parties reported entering into an unspecified “Tolling & Standstill Agreement.”
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January 17, 2024
Judge: Arbitration Clause, Sovereign Immunity Apply In Crop Insurance Row
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Ruling in part that all claims against a crop insurer must be arbitrated “at least for ‘gateway’ matters” and that the government defendants didn’t waive their sovereign immunity, a Michigan federal judge dismissed a suit over claims that the plaintiffs say have not been adjusted in more than three years.
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January 16, 2024
Class Certification Sought In DUFTA Suit Concerning Long-Term Care Insurer
WILMINGTON, Del. — Policyholders who filed a Delaware Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (DUFTA) suit over what they allege were fraudulent transfers from an insurance subsidiary on which more than 1 million policyholders depend for long-term care (LTC) disability benefits filed a motion on Jan. 12 in Delaware Chancery court for class certification.
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January 16, 2024
Former Hedge Fund Exec Is Sentenced To Time Served In Securities Fraud Case
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — One of three former hedge fund executives that a New York federal jury found guilty of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud for an alleged scheme involving a reinsurer has been sentenced to time served, a $5,000 fine and a $200 special assessment.
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January 12, 2024
Judge Grants Ex Parte Bid For Discovery On Reinsurers’ Identity In Breach Case
NEW ORLEANS — Companies that own and operate an offshore supply vessel have won approval of an ex parte motion in Louisiana federal court for leave to conduct expedited discovery regarding the identity of reinsurers in a breach of contract and bad faith suit.
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January 12, 2024
Citing Supplemental Notice Filing, Movants Press Opt-Out Issue Again In COI Hike Row
PHILADELPHIA — Citing a motion pending in Pennsylvania federal court, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals stayed consolidated appeals challenging denial of a request to extend the opt-out deadline in the class settlement of two similar cases over universal life insurance policy cost of insurance (COI) increases.
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January 11, 2024
Insurer Seeks N.C. High Court Review In Row Involving Insolvent Insurers’ Owner
RALEIGH, N.C. — A Puerto Rico-based insurer petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision that vacated a lower court injunction enjoining the owner of insolvent insurers from withdrawing without the North Carolina Insurance commissioner’s consent more than $5,000 from any entity controlled by the owner in an enforcement action for a $524 million judgment, arguing that the appellate court decision is contrary to Supreme Court precedent.
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January 10, 2024
Reinsurer Tackles Third-Party Beneficiary Theory In Cleanup Costs Coverage Row
PADUCAH, Ky. — Arguing in part that what it calls a newly asserted third-party beneficiary theory fails as a matter of law, a reinsurer filed a reply brief on Jan. 9 urging a Kentucky federal court to grant its summary judgment motion in a dispute over pollution-related cleanup costs.