Mealey's Insurance Insolvency : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Insurance Insolvency

April 13, 2022
Objectors To Asset Sale Procedures Argue Discovery Provision Is A ‘Death-Trap’

NEW YORK — Several entities on April 12 objected to or opposed a request by the joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) of Bermuda insurer and reinsurer PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd. (PBLA) and other debtors that a New York federal bankruptcy court approve procedures to sell the debtors’ assets, with one group arguing that the JPLs “have essentially constructed an objection ‘death-trap’ in order to obtain coerced and free discovery from third parties.”
April 12, 2022
Insurer Refutes Blue Cross’ Motion For Judgment In Antitrust Coverage Dispute

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An insurer assuming responsibility for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Inc.’s (BCBSKS) insolvent excess errors and omissions insurer on March 31 opposed BCBSKS’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a Kansas federal court, refuting the health insurer’s challenge to two claims in an antitrust coverage dispute.
April 11, 2022
$33.5M In Payments To Cedents Get OK In Reinsurer’s Delinquency Proceeding

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware vice chancellor on March 31 granted a motion under which some of a delinquent reinsurer’s cedents will receive payments for a portion of their losses before a rehabilitation plan for the reinsurer is approved.
April 11, 2022
Parties Report On Subpoenas, Settlements, Related Case In Insolvent Health Plan Suit

CHICAGO — Parties on April 7 filed a joint status report in a lawsuit alleging that insurance brokers breached their duty of care because they knew or should have known that a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) was not in compliance with its structural requirements and was not financially sound, indicating that the parties have issued a total of 87 third-party document subpoenas and that the plaintiff has now settled with five of the defendants.
April 07, 2022
3 Defendants Are Voluntarily Dismissed From Litigation Over Hedge Funds Collapse

NEW YORK — On April 4, parties in consolidated aiding and abetting lawsuits over the collapse of hedge funds stipulated to and a New York federal judge signed an order of voluntary dismissal as to three defendants.
April 04, 2022
Insolvent Insurers, Government Announce Settlement In ACA Risk-Corridor Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Insolvent insurers and the U.S. government on March 31 filed a corrected stipulation for entry of partial judgment in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims based on their settlement of a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that the U.S. government owes the insurers millions of dollars under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) risk-corridor program.
April 04, 2022
Delaware Judge: Sufficient Evidence Vehicle Was Uninsured At Time Of Accident

NEW CASTLE, Del. — A Delaware judge held March 28 that a plaintiff has satisfy his burden for establishing that a vehicle was uninsured at the time of an accident and that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to who was the driver of that vehicle, noting that the insolvency of the insuring company renders a vehicle uninsured under Delaware law.
April 04, 2022
Defendant Seeks To Prohibit References To Insurance At Asbestos Liability Trial

NEW ORLEANS — Defendants in an asbestos liability coverage suit on April 1 filed two motions in limine in a Louisiana federal court seeking to prohibit references at trial to insurance and to establish the admissibility of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.’s policy documents.
March 30, 2022
Insurer’s Liquidators Seek Bankruptcy Court’s OK On Procedures To Sell Assets

NEW YORK — The joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) of Bermuda insurer and reinsurer PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd. (PBLA) and other debtors on March 28 asked a New York federal bankruptcy court to approve procedures to sell the debtors’ assets, saying that without approval, “the time and uncertainty associated with the sale of the Assets will likely lead to hesitation on behalf of potential buyers.”
March 28, 2022
Oral Argument Sought In Insurer’s Coverage Dispute Over Personal Injury Judgment

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Defendants on March 25 requested a Georgia federal court to hold oral argument of a commercial auto insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit seeking a declaration that there is no coverage for the insured, its owners and an employee for an underlying $112,466.57 personal injury default judgment.
March 25, 2022
Parties Stipulate To Dismissal As To Last Defendant In Reinsurance Billings Row

BOSTON — Parties in a reinsurance billings dispute over the allocation of a $120 million environmental claims settlement on March 23 filed a joint stipulation of dismissal as to what they said was the last remaining defendant in the action in Massachusetts federal court.
March 23, 2022
Insurer Appeals Dismissal Of Insolvent Excess E&O Insurer’s Subrogation Claim

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An insurer assuming responsibility for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Inc.’s insolvent excess errors and omissions insurer on March 16 filed a notice in a Kansas federal court indicating that it was appealing the dismissal of a subrogation claim against Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in an antitrust coverage dispute.
March 18, 2022
Decedent’s Heirs Respond To Summary Judgment Motions In Asbestos Liability Lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS — The heirs to a recently deceased plaintiff in an asbestos liability coverage lawsuit on March 9 opposed motions for summary judgment filed by an insurer and another defendant in a Louisiana federal court, arguing that they have demonstrated genuine issues of material fact regarding whether the decedent was exposed to asbestos because of the movants’ activities or products.
March 18, 2022
Judgment Entered In Favor Of Pa. Insurance Commissioner As SHIP Rehabilitator

BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Feb. 17 entered judgment in favor of the Pennsylvania insurance commissioner, as rehabilitator for Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP), after dismissing without prejudice the Louisiana's insurance commissioner’s complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that the rehabilitator cannot alter, without his approval, the rates and benefits for SHIP's Louisiana policyholders.
March 18, 2022
Puerto Rico Insurance Commissioner: Title III Court Confirmed Debt Adjustment Plan

BOSTON — In a Feb. 14 status report, the Puerto Rico insurance commissioner and auxiliary rehabilitator informed the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that an order and judgment confirming a modified joint plan of adjustment of its debts has been issued in proceedings filed by the commonwealth of Puerto Rico under Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA).
March 18, 2022
NCIGA Says It Suffered Real Injury-In-Fact In MSP Requirements Dispute

RICHMOND, Va. — The North Carolina Insurance Guaranty Association (NCIGA) on Feb. 17 reinforced its appeal asking the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a North Carolina federal court’s ruling that granted the secretary of Health and Human Services and federal agencies’ motion to dismiss its lawsuit challenging the reporting requirements under the federal Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) statute, arguing in its reply brief that it has “adequately pled that it suffered a real, cognizable, and immediate injury-in-fact sufficient to support” its standing.
March 16, 2022
Blue Cross Moves For Judgment On The Pleadings In Antitrust Coverage Dispute

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Inc. on March 10 moved for judgment on the pleadings in a Kansas federal court, challenging two claims in an antitrust coverage dispute involving an insolvent insurer.
March 15, 2022
Trial Set For November In Aiding, Abetting Litigation Over Hedge Funds Collapse

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on March 11 rescheduled a jury trial in consolidated aiding and abetting lawsuits over the collapse of hedge funds for Nov. 30 because “[d]ue to continued Covid protocols, trial in this case cannot go forward as scheduled in May,” a text-only docket entry shows.
March 14, 2022
Judge Rules Documents Protected In Reinsurer’s Suit Over Defense And Indemnity

NEW YORK — Following ex parte review of documents that the plaintiff withheld from production in a dispute over defense and indemnity costs, a New York federal judge on March 3 ruled that attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product doctrine protect all but one and that the defendant “has not made a showing of substantial need and undue hardship.”
March 11, 2022
N.C. Panel: Insolvent Insurer’s Workers’ Compensation Policy Did Not Cover Claim

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina court of appeals on March 1 held that the North Carolina Industrial Commission did not err in finding that a workers’ compensation insurance policy from a now insolvent insurer did not cover a plaintiff’s claim for temporary total disability benefits and medical compensation.
March 09, 2022
After Trial Cancellation, Stay Remains On Last Defendant In Reinsurance Billings Row

BOSTON — Following cancellation of a Massachusetts federal jury trial in a reinsurance billings dispute over the allocation of a $120 million environmental claims settlement, the parties on March 4 filed a joint stipulation of voluntarily dismissal as to one of the two remaining defendants and said a stay remains in effect as to the other.
March 03, 2022
Judge Handles Discovery Bids In Defense And Indemnity Costs Row Involving Reinsurer

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Feb. 24 resolved the latest of several discovery disputes in a dispute over defense and indemnity costs by issuing a text-only order for ex parte review of documents that the plaintiff asserts are privileged.
March 01, 2022
Unspecified Settlement Reported In Reinsurance Billings Row On Eve Of Jury Trial Date

BOSTON — Following stipulations of voluntary dismissal relating to certain parties and a Massachusetts federal judge’s denial of each motion in limine (MIL) in a reinsurance billings dispute over the allocation of a $120 million environmental claims settlement, a jury trial scheduled to begin March 1 was canceled on account of the action “having been reported settled,” according to a Feb. 28 electronic notice on the case docket.
March 01, 2022
Bankruptcy Judge Awards Insurer’s Liquidators Fees Regarding Turnover Orders

NEW YORK — A New York federal bankruptcy judge on Feb. 24 ordered that the joint provisional liquidators (JPLs) of Bermuda insurer and reinsurer PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd. (PBLA) and other debtors be paid $816,826 in attorney fees and $15,422.74 in expenses, citing the “failures of the Respondents to comply with this Court’s Orders.”
February 25, 2022
Parties Make Stipulation, See In Limine Motions Denied In Reinsurance Billings Row

BOSTON — With a jury trial scheduled to start March 1 in Massachusetts federal court, parties in a reinsurance billings dispute over the allocation of a $120 million environmental claims settlement on Feb. 22 jointly stipulated to the dismissal of all claims against two reinsurers; on Feb. 23, the judge denied each motion in limine (MIL) filed in the case, five of them without prejudice.