With its recent decision in Coinbase Inc. v. Suski, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when parties have agreed to two separate contracts, one sending arbitrability disputes to arbitration and the other sending arbitrability...more
6/6/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase Inc v Suski et al ,
Contract Terms ,
Cryptocurrency ,
False Advertising ,
Investment ,
Motion to Compel ,
SCOTUS ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unfair Competition ,
User Agreements
In the latest decision in a long-running saga in Drazen v. Pinto, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals tackled several issues regarding a proposed class settlement agreement....more
5/16/2024
/ ATDS ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Class Members ,
Facebook Inc v Duguid ,
GoDaddy.com ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Statutory Violations ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemarketing ,
Text Messages ,
Vacated
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
Selecting a named plaintiff in a putative class action can be one of the most important, but overlooked, decisions that a plaintiff’s counsel makes. Picking the wrong plaintiff can lead to delay, dismissal of claims, denial...more
6/20/2023
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Damages ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mark Cuban ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reasonable Reliance Claims ,
Sanctions ,
Unregistered Securities
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently diverged from other decisions interpreting the term “actuarial equivalent” in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action, finding that...more
Cy pres-only class action settlements are alive and well in the Ninth Circuit, where a unanimous panel of the court recently affirmed a settlement that provides no monetary relief whatsoever to the class, but awarded millions...more
Court Emphasizes Disclosure Substance Over Form -
A recent decision in Nofsinger v. Jackson National Life Insurance Co. shut down a putative class action in which the plaintiff alleged she surrendered her annuity contract...more
Allegations of misconduct by agents and brokers are a consistent feature of lawsuits aimed at insurance companies. Several recent court decisions illustrate the types of claims insurers have faced and which defense strategies...more
The Sixth Circuit recently addressed whether a novel negotiation class could be certified to facilitate possible future settlement negotiations in multidistrict litigation (MDL)....more
10/1/2020
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FRCP 23 ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
Mass Tort Litigation ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
RICO ,
Settlement Negotiations
In recent months, circuit courts across the country have supported insurers’ discretion to deny long-term disability benefits (LTD) under ERISA. Since the beginning of the year, disability plan insurers have prevailed in the...more
In a recent 5–4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court shut the door on defined-benefit plan participants’ standing to sue under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)....more
9/8/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Life Insurance ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
We previously reported in detail on New Jersey’s recent case law addressing the validity of stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) policies in the June 2019 and December 2019 issues of Expect Focus – Life, Annuity, and...more
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, class action litigation of various types has been initiated, ranging from consumer to employment class actions. Most of these class actions seemingly relate to companies’ reactions to the...more
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of Minnesota Life Insurance Co. on all claims stemming from its denial of an accelerated life insurance payment. ...more
2/10/2020
/ Accelerated Payments ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Death Benefits ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Policy Terms ,
Summary Judgment
We previously reported on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling on the validity of stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) policies in the June 2019 issue of Expect Focus — Life, Annuity, and Retirement Solutions....more
2/7/2020
/ Beneficiaries ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Contested Proceedings ,
Insurable Interests ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Policy Violations ,
Public Policy ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Requirements ,
STOLI ,
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada ,
Trusts ,
Void Contracts ,
Wells Fargo
McClendon v. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. (M.D. Tenn. 2019) -
In McClendon, the plaintiff’s mother purchased a whole life insurance policy to insure the plaintiff’s brother, and subsequently took out a loan on...more
10/14/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Contract Terms ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Implied Covenants ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Interest Rates ,
Life Insurance ,
Loans ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Negligence ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) policies void as against public policy. In Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a $5 million policy was taken out on...more
A recent decision by a Wisconsin district court illustrates the impact of an arbitration agreement on class actions. The plaintiffs alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and overtime laws...more
A recent decision by a Connecticut district court reiterates that the issue of consent may foreclose class certification in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) junk fax cases....more
4/15/2019
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Data-Sharing ,
Franchises ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Suppliers ,
TCPA ,
Telecommunications ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Unsolicited Faxes ,
Wyndham
In a recent decision by a New Jersey district court partially denying a motion to dismiss, the characterization of individual indexed annuities as installment contracts had a significant impact on the potential liability of...more
A recent decision by a federal district court in Maryland further illustrates the elusive nature of early dismissal of claims in far-reaching suits challenging the cost of insurance rate increases – even when some success is...more
The Northern District of Illinois recently denied a motion for class certification based largely on the inexperience of class counsel, and simultaneously denied the defendant’s motion to deny class certification. ...more
10/18/2018
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Conciliation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Ford Motor ,
FRCP 23(a) ,
Hostile Environment ,
Sexual Harassment
New York Pushes Mutual Fund Active Share Disclosure -
New York’s Attorney General issued a report on its recent investigation of fees charged by actively managed equity mutual funds and a metric known as “Active Share.”...more
7/23/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Annuities ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Data Security ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment Companies ,
Life Insurance ,
Lucia v SEC ,
MassMutual ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Unclaimed Property