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
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
A Michigan federal court declined to bifurcate a case involving a contract dispute between a ceding insurer, Amerisure, and its reinsurer, Transatlantic Re, in a case arising from underlying asbestos claims dating back to the...more
Changzhou Sinotype Technology Co., Ltd. (“Changzhou”) is a Chinese company that develops fonts. Changzhou and Los Angeles-based investment firm Rockefeller Technology Investments (Asia) VII (“Rockefeller”), entertained the...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Virginia federal court’s dismissal of a challenge to an arbitration award. The underlying dispute arose out of a lawsuit filed by Alvin Moore against his email service provider,...more
12/17/2018
/ AOL ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Digital Service Providers ,
Diversity Jurisdiction ,
ECPA ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Evidence ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Reversal ,
Stored Communications Act
A federal court in Florida recently adopted the now well-developed consensus that data breach losses are not covered under standard Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies....more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a colorful opinion in a property insurance coverage dispute affirming a denial of coverage for loss arising out of an illicit marijuana growing operation in Michigan. The case is...more
10/8/2018
/ Appeals ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Third-Party Criminal Acts
Plaintiff Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC (“Outokumpu”) contracted with F.L. Industries, Inc. “”FLI”), a German company, to provide cold rolling mills (“CRMs”), which are used in the production of certain steel products. FLI...more
9/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion to Remand ,
New York Convention ,
Non-Signatories ,
Remand ,
Steel Industry
In Excess Insurance Co. Ltd. v Factory Mutual Insurance Co., 3 NY3d 577 (N.Y. 2004), New York’s high court held that, under a facultative reinsurance agreement, the reinsurer’s liability was limited to a per occurrence cap,...more
In Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid, Inc., No. 15-1351P2-01A (1st Cir. Nov. 15, 2017), the First Circuit Court of Appeals ended long-running insurance coverage litigation arising from policyholder VisionAid, Inc.’s...more
12/14/2017
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Practices Liability Coverage ,
Indemnification ,
Independent Counsel ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court
Texas homeowners Joe and Stacci Key sued their roofer, Lon Smith Roofing Contractors (“LSRC”), alleging LSRC violated the Texas Insurance Code by acting as an unlicensed public insurance adjustor. The trial court granted...more
8/29/2017
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Insurance Adjusters ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Code ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Severe Weather
The FBI continues to warn that losses are on the rise from business email compromise (BEC) or “social engineering” schemes, which the Bureau describes as:
Carried out by transnational criminal organizations that employ...more
8/15/2017
/ Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC) ,
Computer Fraud Insurance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Terms ,
Social Engineering
Banks have historically been at the forefront of technological advances in commerce. So it should be no surprise that they and other financial institutions were also among the first to suffer losses related to computer fraud...more
Stephen Evans, doing business as Roof n’ Box, Inc. (“RNB”), had a contract with Building Materials Corp. of America, (“BMCA”) to promote RNB’s “Roof N Box” product, a three-dimensional roofing model, to building-construction...more
Connecticut’s intermediate appellate court addressed a number of novel issues in a wide-ranging opinion regarding primary and excess insurers’ respective duties to defend and indemnify their common insured for long-tail...more
A homeowners insurance policy often covers every member of a family, and many policies state that the insurance applies separately to each insured. The same policies usually exclude coverage for intentional acts. But what...more
12/20/2016
/ Auto Insurance ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
Indemnification ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Murder ,
Negligent Entrustment ,
Negligent Supervision ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Insurance ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Social Media ,
Twitter ,
Wrongful Death
Cybersecurity awareness month is nigh upon us again, and thus perspective is in order. 2016 brought us the first collection and analysis of the nascent claims history of the burgeoning cyber-insurance market. On August 27,...more
10/4/2016
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Hackers ,
Healthcare ,
Identity Theft ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medical Devices ,
NAIC ,
Policy Terms
National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh brought a petition in a New York federal court, to compel nine related companies to arbitrate a payment dispute relating to certain policies of insurance issued to the...more
Insurers are a prime target for hackers as a result of the vast stores of valuable data they maintain. Not all information is created equal, and it varies in value. Hacker services and software, illegal drugs, cyberweapons...more
- Fed Takes First Steps Toward Setting Capital Requirements for Some Insurers
- New Wave of COI Rate Increase Lawsuits Hits the Industry
- STOLI Policies Cancelled, Insurers Retain Premium
-...more
8/29/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Death Master Files ,
Domain Names ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Florida ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
STOLI ,
Unclaimed Property
IN THE SPOTLIGHT -
- SEC Sanctions Unregistered EB-5 Investments Broker
SECURITIES -
- FINRA to Assess Member Firms’ Culture
- SEC Seeks Fund Responses to Distribution-In-Guise Guidance...more
7/26/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Arbitration ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Breach ,
Debt Buyers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EB-5 ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Immigrant Investor Program ,
Individual Accountability ,
Inpatient Billing ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment ,
Job Creation ,
Payday Loans ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Student Loans ,
Two-Midnight Rule ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
The computer network of a Five Guys Burger franchise, RVST Holdings, LLC (RVST), was hacked. Customers’ credit card information was stolen and used to make numerous fraudulent charges. Trustco Bank brought an action against...more
7/18/2016
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credit Cards ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Breach ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Fraudulent Charges ,
Hackers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Property Damage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Summary Judgment
A year ago in this space, we looked at the receding wave of coverage litigation regarding whether various cyber-related exposures were covered under traditional policies, such as CGL and professional liability policies. ...more
6/27/2016
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Insurance Industry ,
Liability Insurance ,
PF Chang's ,
Popular ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Risk Management
IN THE SPOTLIGHT -
The CFPB Takes First Enforcement Action Related to Data Security Practices.
LIFE INSURANCE -
Class Certified in Unique Fixed Indexed Annuity Case.
Alleged Misrepresentations to DFS Warrant...more
5/6/2016
/ Auto Insurance ,
Automotive Loans ,
Bad Faith ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FCC ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Junk Bonds ,
Life Insurance ,
RESPA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Stark Law ,
TCPA ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Uninsured and Under-Insured Motorists ,
Waivers