Specialty Lines

Expert Analysis

• Texas Tax Talk: Ruling May Erode Pro-Taxpayer Presumption

  

  Following the recent Texas Supreme Court opinion in Hegar v. Health Care Service, the state comptroller may try to limit the utility of a long-standing presumption that ambiguous tax statutes must be construed strictly against the taxing authority and liberally for the taxpayer, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• Understanding Legal Considerations In Cannabis M&A Deals

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Zachary Turke and Peter Park at Sheppard Mullin discuss the unique set of challenges for both buyers and sellers in cannabis industry merger and acquisition deals, given the rapidly changing economic conditions, the ever-changing regulatory landscape and new market entrants.

• Cybersecurity Basics Are Key to Combating Ransomware

  

  Recent prohibitions on ransom payments and other public policy measures vastly underestimate the breadth and complexity of the ransomware problem and will only work if organizations adopt basic cyber defenses, says Kate Margolis at Bradley.

• How M&A Insurers Can Increase Smaller Deal Servicing

  

  As the number of M&A deals in the $50 million to $200 million range continues to grow, lawyers, insurance brokers and clients must address the trend away from covering these smaller transactions by working together to make it easier for carriers to consider submissions and to insure these types of risks, says Hilary Weiss at Liberty Global.

• Lessons From Calif. Liability Claim Recoupment Ruling

  

  A recent California federal court decision in Evanston Insurance v. Winstar Properties illustrates the perils of insurer recoupment and underscores the importance of assessing recoupment rights, if any, throughout the claims process, say Geoffrey Fehling and Veronica Adams at Hunton.

• Awaiting Critical Bankruptcy Decision For Surety Industry

  

  The recent oral argument in Argonaut Insurance v. Falcon V offers the Fifth Circuit an opportunity to create a rule for multilateral contracts in bankruptcy and exposed the common misconception that a surety assumes the risk of the principal's nonperformance when it issues a bond, say Lisa Tancredi at Womble Bond and Laura Murphy at Travelers.

• Bankruptcy Case May Help Define Surety Executory Contract

  

  Next week’s Fifth Circuit oral argument in Argonaut Insurance v. Falcon V is of great interest to the surety industry as this case presents an opportunity for the court to address several unsettled questions on whether a tripartite arrangement, such as a surety bond program, is an executory contract for bankruptcy purposes, say Lisa Tancredi at Womble Bond and Laura Murphy at Travelers.

• Assessing NFT Insurance Coverage Options And Gaps

  

  Because non-fungible tokens do not come bundled with insurance policies, and until NFT-specific insurance policies become more common, NFT owners should proactively protect against risk by drawing upon existing frameworks, despite potential coverage gaps, say Brian Scarbrough and Edward Crouse at Jenner & Block.

• Insurer Implications As 3 Climate Suits Return To State Courts

  

  Three federal circuit courts recently remanded climate change lawsuits brought by state and local governments against major energy corporations back to state courts, where plaintiffs are more likely to succeed, thus significantly increasing their insurers' and reinsurers' exposure to defense costs and judgments, say José Umbert and Jason Reeves at Zelle. 

• 6 Rulings Reinforce BIPA Coverage For Illinois Policyholders

  

  Six well-reasoned recent decisions in the Northern District of Illinois have considerably strengthened policyholders’ arguments for commercial general liability coverage in lawsuits brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.

• How Boards Can Address Insurance-Based Caremark Risk

  

  Recent bankruptcy proceedings, such as Purdue Pharma's, highlight that insurance is critical to ensuring an organization's solvency and ability to pay claimants, making it important for boards to prioritize adequate insurance and risk-management as core Caremark responsibilities, say attorneys at Cooley.

• 4th Circ.'s Allen Trust Opinion: A New Class Action Primer

  

  The Fourth Circuit's recent opinion in Allen Trust v. Banner Life Insurance is likely to become an oft-cited instruction manual for Rule 23(b)(3) class action certification and settlement in the circuit, because of how it effectively addresses the three major issues that dominate class action litigation, say David Anthony and Justin Golart at Troutman Pepper.

• What Microcaptive Reporting Ruling May Mean For The IRS

  

  In CIC v. Internal Revenue Service, a Tennessee federal court’s decision to set aside an IRS requirement to disclose microcaptive insurance arrangements may be a step toward evidentiary standards to show that the potential for abuse in a lawful transaction is sufficient to support heightened disclosure requirements, says Samuel Lauricia at Weston Hurd.