Mealey's Reinsurance
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June 13, 2023
Relators Raise SuperValu In 8th Circuit Appeal Of Qui Tam Crop Insurance Row
ST. LOUIS — Relators who are asking the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse vacation of judgment in a qui tam crop insurance case now contend that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision “makes it clear” that a Minnesota federal court’s interpretation of “knowingly” “is not the correct legal standard.”
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June 13, 2023
Bifurcated Settlement Proposed For 1 Defendant In SEC Suit Over Alleged Fraud
DURHAM, N.C. — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12 asked a North Carolina federal court to approve a bifurcated settlement it negotiated with one of three defendants in a civil suit over a former investment advisory firm’s alleged “series of fraudulent and improper schemes” that defrauded clients of more than $75 million.
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June 13, 2023
Partial Production Of Arbitration Record Compelled In Suit Over Defense Costs
DETROIT — With a motion for declaratory judgment pending in a suit over defense costs, a Michigan federal judge has granted a reinsurer’s motion to compel partial, redacted production of a separate arbitration record.
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June 12, 2023
Insurers Seek Dismissal Of Appeal Over Partial Stay Of Adversary Proceeding
NEW YORK — Arguing lack of subject matter jurisdiction, appellees asked a New York federal court to dismiss an appeal seeking to overturn a New York federal bankruptcy judge’s order partially staying an adversary proceeding filed by the joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) of Bermuda insurer and reinsurer PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd. (PBLA) and other debtors.
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June 12, 2023
Parties In Reinsurance Dispute File Briefs On Ultimate Net Loss Provision
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Parties in a complex breach of contract suit over reinsurance billings filed new briefs on June 9 addressing just one claim at the direction of the Alabama federal court; specifically, they dispute the interpretation of a contract provision regarding ultimate net loss and whether it applies to $385,546.03 the insurer incurred in a suit against its errors and omissions (E&O) carrier.
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June 09, 2023
TRO Bid Denied In Suit Over Alleged Raid On Facultative Reinsurance Group
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge denied a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a suit asserting claims including breach of contract and violation of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) regarding an alleged “raid” of a facultative reinsurance group.
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June 08, 2023
Delaware Regulators Ask 3rd Circuit To Rehear Case Over Microcaptive Info
PHILADELPHIA — Arguing in part that a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s ruling “conflicts with decisions of each of the other Circuit Courts of Appeals which have enunciated a” test for reverse-preemption under the McCarran-Ferguson Act (MFA), the Delaware Department of Insurance (DDOI) petitioned for rehearing and rehearing en banc.
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June 08, 2023
Panel Denies English Reinsurer’s Rehearing Bid In All-Sums Allocation Case
NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied a petition for panel rehearing in which an English facultative reinsurer argued that the opinion “misreads the context” of one English case and “overlooked an English appellate decision reaching exactly the opposite conclusion” in a case concerning all-sums allocation of an environmental claims settlement.
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June 01, 2023
Captive Services Dispute Is Dismissed With Prejudice On Stipulation By All Parties
PITTSBURGH — As stipulated by all parties, a Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a dispute over a captive services agreement in which three breach of contract claims survived summary judgment.
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June 01, 2023
Remand To Hawaii State Court Urged In Lawsuit Over Purported Reinsurance
HONOLULU — The plaintiff in a dispute over a purported reinsurance policy asked a Hawaii federal court to remand the case “in light of the double presumptions against removal jurisdiction and fraudulent joinder.”
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May 31, 2023
Insurer Dismisses Suit Against Reinsurers Over Allegedly Tardy Payments
NEW YORK — An insurer filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice regarding its complaint in New York federal court over allegations that two reinsurers breached contracts by not promptly paying all they owe.
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May 31, 2023
Bankruptcy Judge Won’t Dismiss Adversary Proceeding Over Reinsurance Collateral
ST. LOUIS — A federal bankruptcy judge in Missouri has denied a motion to dismiss an adversary proceeding concerning reinsurance collateral; the defendant had argued that the requested relief “is contrary to their contractual commitments,” and the plaintiffs contended in part that the motion sought “a determination of affirmative defenses that have not yet been pled.”
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May 30, 2023
Texas Panel: Federal Ruling Constitutes Res Judicata For Arbitration Bid
EASTLAND, Texas — Ruling in part that a federal court’s judgment that was rendered after a Texas trial court’s order and is being appealed “now precludes any determination on the issue of arbitrability in this court or in the court below,” a Texas appellate panel denied an interlocutory appeal in a dispute over whether a school district can be compelled to arbitrate under a reinsurance contract to which it is not a party.
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May 30, 2023
High Court Won’t Review 6th Circuit FAA Exclusive Remedy Insurance Crop Rulings
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on May 30 denied certiorari regarding similar rulings that two farms argued “present several fundamental questions about the relationship between private agreements and the FAA [Federal Arbitration Act] . . . in the context of contractual language that is found in every federally sanctioned crop insurance policy.”
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May 26, 2023
Parties Dispute TRO Bid In Suit Over Alleged Raid On Facultative Reinsurance Group
CHICAGO — Plaintiffs who allege that a rival used a “well-established Playbook” to conduct an unlawful raid of their facultative reinsurance group asked an Illinois federal court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO), and the defendants countered that “[t]he only emergency is likely [the plaintiffs’] desire to unlawfully stifle competition.”
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May 25, 2023
Delaware Discovery Ruling Addresses Reserve Info, Reinsurance Communications
NEW CASTLE, Del. — A motion to compel insurers to produce documents relating to reinsurance communications and internal loss reserve information was granted in a Delaware court in a suit over more than $434 million in claimed losses after a landslide and explosion in September 2018 closed a natural gas pipeline for more than two years.
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May 24, 2023
Judge: Bad Faith Claim Against Reinsurer Is Stated Under Direct-Liability Theory
PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge on May 23 mostly denied dismissal of claims against a reinsurer in a breach and bad faith suit over water damage, ruling in part that the insured “has adequately stated a claim for bad faith against [the reinsurer] on a direct-liability theory, notwithstanding its admitted lack of contractual privity.”
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May 24, 2023
Some Claims In Coverage Row Over Afghan Facility Are Stayed After Injunction
NEW YORK — An English court has entered an anti-suit injunction regarding certain claims in a New York federal lawsuit over whether what the plaintiffs obtained for a facility in Afghanistan is insurance or reinsurance and whether any fraud or negligence was involved, and those claims have now been stayed in the U.S. court.
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May 23, 2023
2nd Circuit Upholds Ruling Against English Reinsurer In All-Sums Allocation Row
NEW YORK — In a May 22 ruling that represents its best guess as to what the United Kingdom Supreme Court would do, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld a decision against an English facultative reinsurer over all-sums allocation of an environmental claims settlement.
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May 19, 2023
Stipulated Dismissals Are Granted In Excess Collateral Reinsurance Lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS — At the parties’ stipulation, a Minnesota federal court dismissed a cross-claim and a counterclaim in an interpleader suit over excess collateral in an insurance-reinsurance program.
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May 17, 2023
8th Circuit Sets Oral Argument In Appeal Of Qui Tam Crop Insurance Case
ST. LOUIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument for June 13 in a revival bid by relators who had stood to receive about $300,000 before the trial court granted the government’s post-trial motion and vacated judgment in the qui tam crop insurance case.
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May 16, 2023
Amendment, Judgment Sought In Suit Over Coverage Of Sexual Abuse Case Settlements
SEATTLE —A foreign reinsurer on May 15 filed an opposition to an interlocal cooperative’s bid for leave to add allegations in a declaratory judgment case over reimbursement for defense and settlement of suits alleging sexual abuse; instead, the foreign reinsurer asks a Washington state federal court to render judgment on the pleadings.
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May 16, 2023
Insurer Removes Suit Over Purported Reinsurance, Files Counterclaims
HONOLULU — After removing a dispute over a purported reinsurance policy to Hawaii federal court, an insurer has filed an answer with counterclaims, arguing that 23 historical claims were paid in full.
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May 16, 2023
Insurer Does Not Oppose 1 Of 3 Stay Requests In Asbestos Liabilities Row
OMAHA, Neb. — After three defendants cited Pennsylvania liquidation proceedings in asking a Nebraska federal court for stays in a suit over the $157.2 million settlement National Indemnity Co. (NICO) reached with Montana regarding alleged asbestos exposures, NICO says in a May 15 filing that it does not oppose a stay against one of the defendants.
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May 16, 2023
Consent Judgment Entered Against Brazilian Reinsurer In Suit Over 2020 False Claim
NEW YORK — Days after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed an enforcement action against a Brazilian reinsurance company over a false 2020 claim of substantial investment by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a New York federal judge has entered a consent judgment containing a permanent injunction but no monetary penalty.