Mealey's Reinsurance
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November 19, 2024
Renewed Dismissal Bid Fails In Direct Action Case Against Reinsurers
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on Nov. 18 ruled that allegations that an insurer “is functioning as a fronting company, with the actual risk being transferred to its reinsurers” are sufficient to make dismissal of third-party direct-action claims against the insurer’s unnamed reinsurers “premature.”
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November 19, 2024
Compelling Arbitration, Judge Says MOU Is ‘Closely Related’ To Reinsurance Contract
LOS ANGELES — Concluding that a 1984 memorandum of understanding (MOU) is “closely related to the reinsurance contract and not a completely separate agreement,” a California federal judge granted reinsurers’ motion to compel arbitration in a lawsuit over reinsurance billings arising from asbestos bodily injury claims.
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November 18, 2024
Insurance Mogul Says Deposition Sealing Not Needed In SEC Fraud Suit Against Him
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Insurance mogul Greg Lindberg, a former owner of insurers now in receivership, on Nov. 15 filed in a North Carolina federal court a notice stating that “continued sealing” of certain transcript excerpts of his deposition is unnecessary in a suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that he, his advisory services company and its former executive defrauded clients of more than $75 million.
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November 18, 2024
Parties Dispute Former CEO’s Bid For Severance Benefits During Liquidation
MADISON, Wis. — The termination of former Wisconsin Reinsurance Corp. and 1st Auto & Casualty Insurance CEO Jason A. Fogg has become an issue in those entities’ liquidation, with Fogg filing an objection in Wisconsin state court to denial of his claim for more than $660,000 and the liquidator countering that the termination was “for cause” under his executive employment agreement.
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November 15, 2024
Defendants Seeks Extension In $1B RICO Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving Magnate
RALEIGH, N.C. — Defendant asset management companies on Nov. 15 moved in North Carolina federal court for more time to respond to an amended complaint in a suit accusing them, former insurance magnate Greg E. Lindberg and other parties of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations related to their purported participation in a $1 billion scheme to defraud now-insolvent insurers once owned by Lindberg.
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November 14, 2024
Citing Loper Bright, Farm Seeks U.S. High Court Review Of Crop Insurance Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arguing that Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo should have prevented the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from deferring to a regulatory interpretation of the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. (FCIC), a farm petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a crop insurance case.
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November 14, 2024
2nd Circuit Won’t Review Dismissal Of Whistleblower Suit Against Reinsurer, Others
NEW YORK — Saying in part that there is “substantial evidence” for the conclusion that the petitioner “did not subjectively believe that” the conduct he cited in a whistleblower retaliation complaint “constituted criminal fraud or violated any securities law provisions,” a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued a Nov. 13 summary order declining to review dismissal of the complaint.
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November 14, 2024
Government Files Counterclaim In Suit Over Captive Insurance Program, Penalties
PITTSBURGH — In a text-only order, a Pennsylvania federal judge removed the Internal Revenue Service from the caption of a dispute over a suit over penalties resulting from that agency’s decision that a Pittsburgh-based corporation’s involvement with a purported captive insurance program constituted tax shelter promotion; additionally, the government has moved to dismiss or strike a laches claim and asserted a counterclaim.
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November 13, 2024
Guilty Plea Entered In Insurance Magnate’s $2B Money Laundering, Conspiracy Case
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Insurance magnate Greg Lindberg, the former owner of now-insolvent insurers, pleaded guilty Nov. 12 in a North Carolina federal court to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy regarding his $2 billion scheme to defraud insurers and policyholders by funneling money through his extensive global network of insurance companies and holding companies.
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November 13, 2024
Amicus Bid Is Contested In 6th Circuit Appeal Of Collateral Estoppel Ruling
CINCINNATI — A request for permission to file an amicus curiae brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has drawn a reinsurer’s opposition in the appeal of a ruling that collateral estoppel applies to a defense costs dispute concerning asbestos lawsuits and prior arbitration.
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November 13, 2024
Restrictions Granted In Asbestos Coverage Dispute Involving Liquidated Insurer
OMAHA, Neb. — In docket-only orders, a Nebraska federal magistrate judge granted motions to restrict access to certain documents by National Indemnity Co. (NICO) and Horace Mann Insurance Co., including briefs related to summary judgment motions, in NICO’s suit seeking to enforce obligations by multiple insurers, one of whom is now insolvent, for the liability NICO incurred related to claims for asbestos exposure.
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November 13, 2024
Farmer’s Suit Against Crop Insurer Is Stayed Pending FCIC Determination
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A North Carolina federal magistrate judge who previously ruled that a Federal Crop Insurance Corp. (FCIC) “determination requirement applies to all claims seeking extracontractual damages related to a federally reinsured crop insurance policy” on Nov. 12 granted a farmer’s unopposed request to stay rather than dismiss the case while he pursues that determination.
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November 12, 2024
Magistrate Would Side With Reinsurer In Heart Transplant Reimbursement Row
GALVESTON, Texas — Concluding that a reinsurer doesn’t owe the plaintiff insurer “anything” in a health maintenance organization (HMO) dispute regarding heart transplant reimbursement, a Texas federal magistrate judge recommended granting part of the reinsurer’s summary judgment motion.
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November 12, 2024
Group Outlines Dismissal Arguments In Another Reinsurer’s RICO Lawsuit
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — As it has done in a similar Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act suit that a different reinsurer filed in New York federal court over purportedly fraudulent workers’ compensation claims and personal injury lawsuits, a group of defendants filed a pre-motion letter outlining plans to seek dismissal.
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November 08, 2024
Gold Mining Co. Estimates Losses In Coverage Row At More Than $200M
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge ordered parties to file a joint report on the prospect of arbitrating a breach of contract lawsuit for losses estimated at more than $200 million for a gold mining breakdown that involves a dispute over whether the defendants are direct insurers or reinsurers of the plaintiff.
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November 06, 2024
7th Circuit Hears Argument On Arbitration Preclusion Dispute In Reinsurers’ Appeal
CHICAGO — In Nov. 5 oral argument before a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel concerning where disputes over the preclusive effect of prior arbitration are decided, reinsurers acknowledged that the reversal they seek would create a circuit split, while an insurer cited Smith v. Spizzirri in urging the court to vacate the challenged dismissal to arbitration in favor of a stay during arbitration.
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November 06, 2024
Insurer Files Counterclaim, Third-Party Complaint In Reinsurance Dispute
TAMPA, Fla. — Telling an Illinois federal court that it is willing to reimburse claims totaling $1,889,541 if it is first paid “premiums of $4,156,531” in a reinsurance dispute, an insurer filed a declaratory judgment counterclaim against the reinsurer combined with a third-party complaint against the insured.
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November 04, 2024
Bid To File Redacted Agreements Under Seal Is Granted In Direct Action Case
NEW ORLEANS — Without ruling on issues including whether “redacted information is discoverable,” a Louisiana federal magistrate judge granted a third-party defendant’s opposed request for leave to file four redacted reinsurance agreements under seal in a dispute regarding direct-action claims against the reinsurers.
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October 31, 2024
Bid To Seal Reinsurance Agreements Disputed In Case Involving Direct Action
NEW ORLEANS — What information in four reinsurance agreements must be revealed is the subject of a dispute in Louisiana federal court, with a third-party plaintiff invoking a local rule and referencing several other cases and a third-party defendant countering that the third-party plaintiff “continues to seek commercially sensitive reinsurance information from a competitor which is not relevant to any viable claim or defense in this case.”
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October 30, 2024
Arbitration Bid Fought In Reinsurance Billing Row Involving MOU
LOS ANGELES — Urging a California federal court to reject an arbitration bid in a lawsuit over reinsurance billings arising from asbestos bodily injury claims, an insurer contends that the abstention doctrine doesn’t apply and that the arbitration clause is in a different agreement than the one at issue and doesn’t include the present billing dispute.
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October 30, 2024
Court Gets Updates On Objections To Proposals In Reinsurer’s Liquidation
WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware Chancery Court has been updated on the status of disputes over four proof of claim (POC) procedures the receiver for life and health reinsurer Scottish Re (U.S.) Inc. (SRUS) proposed for its liquidation, with the receiver filing an acknowledgement “that clarifies and should resolve several aspects which prompted objections” and certain cedents and retrocessionaires listing issues that they say “remain unresolved.”
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October 30, 2024
Reinsurance Broker Wins Discovery Stay In Suit Over Vesttoo Collapse Losses
DALLAS — Granting a discovery stay in a breach of contract suit over losses associated with the collapse of Vesttoo Ltd. pending resolution of a dismissal bid, a Texas federal judge said that “under the circumstances” the stay “could streamline” resolution of the case and will not prejudice the plaintiff.
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October 29, 2024
Indiana Appeals Panel Reverses Ruling For Employer In Attorney Fees Dispute
INDIANAPOLIS — In an unpublished memorandum decision reversing a state court’s order, an Indiana Court of Appealspanel ruled in part that an employer that participates in the Indiana Assigned Risk Reinsurance Plan didn’t exhaust its administrative remedies because it had not requested appellate attorney fees and prejudgment interest from the plan administrator.
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October 28, 2024
Docs Put On Record After Oral Argument In ERISA Pension Risk Transfer Case
GREENBELT, Md. — After oral argument on the only fully briefed dismissal motion among the similar recent putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Lockheed Martin Corp. filed 10 documents at the direction of a Maryland federal judge.
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October 28, 2024
More Briefing Ordered In Microcaptive Case Involving Economic Substance Doctrine
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Tax Court judge who is presiding over consolidated cases involving purported microcaptive insurance companies and considering the “economic substance doctrine” in regard to the remaining issue of accuracy-related penalties has directed the parties to file simultaneous briefs by Dec. 19.