February 2024 ─ Chaffetz Lindsey is excited to launch of a new firm publication, the New York Appellate Insurance Reports (NYAIR). NYAIR will provide timely summaries of New York appellate court and Second Circuit decisions concerning complex commercial insurance and reinsurance disputes. Coverage includes decisions back to January 1, 2023 and we will add new reports as future … [Read more...] about Chaffetz Lindsey Launches New York Appellate Insurance Reports (NYAIR)
Legal Updates
Nuclear Verdicts & Social Inflation: Juror Biases & Trends
How do you get the attention of 100 people attending the last session on the final day of an AIRROC conference? Well, this presentation started out with the group watching two brief videos of juries deliberating in advance of rendering their verdict. In both scenarios, audience members were able to hear the jurors discussing their opinions on the deep pockets of corporate … [Read more...] about Nuclear Verdicts & Social Inflation: Juror Biases & Trends
New York Court Of Appeals Rules That Presence Of COVID-19 Virus At Insured Property And Resulting Business Closures Do Not Constitute “Direct Physical Loss Or Damage” Under Property Policy
For more information, please visit the Insurance Law Alert Resource Center. Holding The New York Court of Appeals ruled that allegations of the COVID-19 virus at insured property locations and the resulting business closures and accommodations resulting from the virus do not state a claim for “direct physical loss or damage” under a property policy. Consolidated Rest. … [Read more...] about New York Court Of Appeals Rules That Presence Of COVID-19 Virus At Insured Property And Resulting Business Closures Do Not Constitute “Direct Physical Loss Or Damage” Under Property Policy
Third Circuit Reverses; Dismisses LTL’s “Texas Two-Step” Bankruptcy Case
In the AIRROC Annual 2022, the authors published “Dancing to the Beat of Divisive Mergers; The ‘Texas Two-Step’ Bankruptcy Strategy,” summarizing the strategy and discussing several recent cases.1 Most notably, the LTL Management, LLC (Johnson & Johnson) case was discussed in detail. In that case, the talc claimants and others filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the … [Read more...] about Third Circuit Reverses; Dismisses LTL’s “Texas Two-Step” Bankruptcy Case
Recent Judicial Interpretations of Facultative Certificates
I. Introduction Most reinsurance disputes are resolved in private before panels of industry experts, who are experienced in the unique practices, nomenclature, and statutory accounting that comprise the business of insurance and reinsurance. These disputes often embrace financial and other obligations arising under many different insurance policies, with losses that may … [Read more...] about Recent Judicial Interpretations of Facultative Certificates
Just Decided – New Jersey Supreme Court: Insurers Can Look to Extrinsic Evidence to Deny a Defense
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Norman International, Inc. v. Admiral Insurance Company, No. 086155 (N.J. Aug. 11, 2022). At issue was coverage for a work-site injury and the interpretation of a policy exclusion for operations or activities performed by an insured in certain counties in New York. The case is significant in terms of addressing causation for … [Read more...] about Just Decided – New Jersey Supreme Court: Insurers Can Look to Extrinsic Evidence to Deny a Defense
The End of ‘Bellefonte’: ‘Global Re’ and the Proper Reading of Facultative Reinsurance Contracts
In late December 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a blockbuster decision grappling with the Erie doctrine, stare decisis, and overturning a decades-old precedent. It was the fourth appellate decision in a lengthy litigation reminiscent of Dickens’ Bleak House. This was not litigation about constitutional rights or environmental justice, but a case … [Read more...] about The End of ‘Bellefonte’: ‘Global Re’ and the Proper Reading of Facultative Reinsurance Contracts
Florida and Punitive Damages
Have you noticed an influx of hearings in Florida to add punitive damages to complaints lately? Here's why: Asserting a punitive damages claim is a strategy often utilized by plaintiffs to obtain financial discovery from commercial defendants to which they would otherwise not be entitled. The Florida Supreme Court amended Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130 regarding … [Read more...] about Florida and Punitive Damages
Claims Update: The Opioids Epidemic and “All Sums” Claims Presentations
The afternoon education program of the Spring Membership Meeting included a claims update on topics touched upon before but, nonetheless, remain significant issues impacting the insurance industry and beyond. A video replay of this two-part presentation is available in the AIRROC On Demand library. Latest Developments in the Opioids Crisis Adam Berardi and Michael Kassak, … [Read more...] about Claims Update: The Opioids Epidemic and “All Sums” Claims Presentations
2 High Court Cases That Can Alter Arbitration Playing Field
Each year, the U.S. Supreme Court faces a large number of certiorari petitions seeking review of a wide variety of civil disputes. The court in recent years has consistently found room on its docket to address disputes regarding the Federal Arbitration Act, which sets out the statutory scheme for the judicial facilitation of dispute resolution through arbitration. Two … [Read more...] about 2 High Court Cases That Can Alter Arbitration Playing Field
New York Now Requires Defendants To Provide Automatic Early Disclosure of Insurance Information
Defendants in New York are now required to automatically disclose expansive insurance information at the beginning of a lawsuit. Beyond just providing evidence of an insurance policy, the new version of the discovery rule CPLR 3101(f) now requires disclosures such as the contact information of an insurer’s claim adjuster and information about whether attorney’s fees have eroded … [Read more...] about New York Now Requires Defendants To Provide Automatic Early Disclosure of Insurance Information
What Goes Around Comes Around
In 1990, the Second Circuit in Bellefonte Reinsurance Co. v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 903 F.2d 910 (2d Cir. 1990), affirmed a District Court judgment that reinsurers were not obligated to pay additional sums for defense costs over and above the limits of liability specified in a facultative reinsurance certificate. Since then, the Bellefonte rule acted as a de … [Read more...] about What Goes Around Comes Around
Arizona Eliminates Peremptory Challenges
New Trend Poses Threat In Subrogation Trials. Effective January 1, 2022, Arizona will become the first state to eliminate the use of peremptory challenges in jury selection in both criminal and civil trials—including the trial of subrogation cases. It isn’t news to the insurance industry that many (if not most) people harbor certain resentments against insurance companies. If … [Read more...] about Arizona Eliminates Peremptory Challenges
New York’s Second Department Splits from First Department
DOES AN INSURER HAVE AN ENTITLEMENT TO RECOUP DEFENSE COSTS WHEN NO DUTY TO INDEMNIFY EXISTS? In a case of first impression for the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, the court chose not to follow prior decisions of its sister court and federal courts applying New York law. The Second Department held that an insurer could not recover defense costs … [Read more...] about New York’s Second Department Splits from First Department
Party-Appointed Arbitrators on the Precipice
Concerns about bias and prejudice from multiple repeat appointments have plagued party-appointed arbitrators for years. This is true of international arbitration, commercial arbitration and, of course, insurance and reinsurance arbitration. Recently, there have been several cases in the United States and the United Kingdom addressing implicit bias, repeat players and the need … [Read more...] about Party-Appointed Arbitrators on the Precipice
The Second Circuit Decision in Utica Mutual v. Munich Re: Some Clarity on Three Fronts
On July 29, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its ruling on the appeal of Utica Mutual Insurance Company (“Utica”) from the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York in the dispute between Utica and Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. (“MRAm”). The court affirmed the decision of the court below that MRAm … [Read more...] about The Second Circuit Decision in Utica Mutual v. Munich Re: Some Clarity on Three Fronts
The Scope of an Arbitration Panel’s Authority
Raymond Mastrangelo, a Partner with Mound Cotton Wollan Greengrass LLP, moderated a panel discussion with three of the insurance and reinsurance arbitration community’s most experienced and respected arbitrators: Susan Claflin, Claflin Consulting Services LLC, Ann Field, Senior Managing Director of Client Services, Aon, and Howard Page, HR Page Consulting LLP. The panel topic … [Read more...] about The Scope of an Arbitration Panel’s Authority
A Look at the Legal Landscape
The education sessions of the 2021 Summer Membership Meeting began with “A Look at the Legal Landscape” of COVID-19 Business Interruption (“BI”) claims, presented by John O’Bryan, Partner, Freeborn & Peters, Michael Merlo, Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel, Aon, and Kay E. Wilde, Director of Reinsurance Assumed Claims, Allstate Insurance Company. The panel treated … [Read more...] about A Look at the Legal Landscape
Disputes Over Arbitrator Qualifications: The Northern District of California Offers Some Guidance
The selection of an arbitration panel can often lead to disputes between the parties regarding things like whether a particular candidate is qualified, whether a challenge to an arbitrator’s qualifications can be addressed pre-award and whether a party that names an unqualified arbitrator should lose the opportunity to name a replacement. In Public Risk Innovations v. Amtrust … [Read more...] about Disputes Over Arbitrator Qualifications: The Northern District of California Offers Some Guidance
Reinsurance Arbitration Awards – An Uphill Battle?
A long-running dispute between Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Company and one of its reinsurers, Everest Reinsurance Company, recently culminated in the unsealing of an award from an arbitration to which Everest had not been a party. Everest was able to obtain this result despite the fact that Penn National had withdrawn its petition to confirm the award (and … [Read more...] about Reinsurance Arbitration Awards – An Uphill Battle?
