Insurance Law

Appeals Court Blasts Settlement Firm, Nixes Deal Costing Victim $300K

A federal appeals court has refused to approve a lump-sum deal that cost a bombing victim around $300,000 because the Houston settlement company that struck the agreement evaded a Pennsylvania law requiring court approval. The company, Rapid Settlements, agreed to pay $32,000 upfront to the father of a 13-year-old boy…

Mar 10, 2009 3:12 PM CDT

Mass. AG’s Office: 1 Broken Tooth Cost $36K in Fake Claims

Over four years, a Massachusetts man allegedly collected some $36,000 by making repeated claims against restaurants over the same broken tooth. Now, after an investigation by the state attorney general’s office, Tod Schaffer is facing dozens of criminal charges that could, at least in theory, put him in prison for…

Mar 4, 2009 11:01 PM CST

Ex-CEO Hank Greenberg Sues AIG, Says He Overpaid for Stock

Forced to resign in 2005 as chairman and chief executive of insurance giant American International Group Inc. after almost 40 years at the helm, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg is now suing AIG over an alleged securities fraud. Material misrepresentations and omissions by some former officers and four directors concerning AIG’s credit-default-swap…

Mar 3, 2009 8:50 PM CST

Bernanke: ‘Huge Gap’ Allowed AIG ‘Hedge Fund,’ Costing US Up to $200B

Testifying today at a Senate Budget Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the financial products division of major insurance company had been operated like a hedge fund with virtually no government oversight. The fact that American International Group Inc. then had to be rescued with…

Mar 3, 2009 5:54 PM CST

Heller Asks Ex-Clients Considering Malpractice Claims to Sue Now

The dissolved law firm Heller Ehrman is inviting former clients considering malpractice claims to file suit, and to do so quickly. Heller is spending about $20,000 to print notices in major publications inviting former clients who want to sue to do so before malpractice insurance coverage expires, Legal Pad reports.…

Mar 2, 2009 7:20 PM CST

Continuing Luzerne, Pa., Court Probe: Were Auto Accident Cases Fixed?

Was the deck stacked against defense attorneys in uninsured and underinsured motorists cases in Luzerne County, Pa.? That is the issue on which investigators are now focusing in the latest chapter of an ongoing federal probe of court corruption there, reports the Legal Intelligencer. A pro-plaintiff arbitration system has been…

Feb 23, 2009 8:04 PM CST

Appeals Court Revives Suit Against Katrina Insurers

A federal appeals court based in New Orleans has revived a whistle-blower suit claiming several insurance companies tried to shift the burden of paying for Hurricane Katrina damages onto the federal government. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Louisiana suit may continue against all but two insurers,…

Feb 20, 2009 6:17 PM CST

Man Accused of Attacking 2 Lawyers, Years Apart, in 1 Worker’s Comp Case

After serving three months for a 1991 courtroom attack in which he held a gun to the head of a defense attorney representing Rockwell International Corp. in a worker’s compensation case, a California man is now accused of a similar attack on another company lawyer in 2006 in the same…

Feb 19, 2009 8:46 PM CST

Tenn. Attorney is Accused of Drawing On Clients During Settlement Check Dispute

It was a standard legal representation up to the point of receiving a $4,000 settlement check in a homeowner’s insurance case, according to two clients of Shelbyville, Tenn., attorney Burt English. But when they went to pick up the check from his law office, contend Josh and Tasha Hendon, a…

Feb 18, 2009 7:25 PM CST

Ore. Lawyer Gets Payday in Calif. Federal Case; 9th Cir. Nixes Birbrower Ban

A prominent Oregon lawyer who helped his son litigate a federal insurance coverage case in California is entitled to attorney fees, a divided federal appeals court panel has ruled, even though he wasn’t temporarily admitted to practice there. The well-known “Birbrower” ban on attorney fees being paid to an unadmitted…

Feb 18, 2009 6:39 PM CST

ABA House Passes Disaster Insurance Measures

The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates this morning passed a series of resolutions aimed at improving insurance protection for individuals and companies affected by natural disasters. The measures were put forward by the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section. They were opposed by the Section of Real Property, Trust &…

Feb 16, 2009 3:34 PM CST

Heath Ledger’s Daughter, 3, Settles $10M Life Insurance Legal Battle

An insurance company that had refused to pay out on a $10 million life policy after actor Heath Ledger’s death from a drug overdose, contending that it might have been a suicide excluded from coverage by the policy terms, has now agreed to a confidential settlement. ReliaStar Life Insurance Company…

Jan 30, 2009 9:22 PM CST

Bankruptcy Judge Denies Heller Request for Malpractice Policy

A bankruptcy judge has refused a request by Heller Ehrman to buy “tail” malpractice coverage to cover claims against the firm after its insurance expires April 15. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali of San Francisco sided with creditors who contended the $3.5 million needed to purchase the policy didn’t make…

Jan 29, 2009 12:32 PM CST

Locke Lord Pursues Partners of Dwindling Morgan & Finnegan IP Boutique

Most of the remaining lawyers in a New York intellectual property boutique that has been dwindling for the past two years are at least thinking about joining Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell. On Friday, Locke Lord extended offers to “the bulk” of the partnership at Morgan & Finnegan, reports the…

Jan 26, 2009 9:24 PM CST

Insurer Drops Smoke = ‘Pollution’ Claim in $25M Fatal Office Fire Litigation

An insurance company fighting to avoid paying a claim in a fatal Houston 2007 office fire that could involve damages of $25 million is reportedly dropping its effort to apply the pollution exclusion in its policy for the property to the smoke, fumes and soot that killed three people. But…

Jan 22, 2009 5:29 PM CST