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Insurance Law

720 ABA Journal Insurance Law articles.

Another Katrina Law Firm Axed Due to Scruggs Fallout

A broad disqualification order removing law firms associated with the Scruggs Katrina Group from representing policyholders in State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. insurance coverage cases related to Hurricane Katrina damage applies to law firms that did even minimal work in cooperation with Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and his colleagues, a…

May 15, 2008 8:21 PM CDT

Congress OKs Bill to Ban Genetic Discrimination

Congress has passed a bill to ban genetic discrimination by health insurers and employers. The House approved the measure yesterday by a vote of 414-1, the New York Times reports. Previously the bill, known as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed the Senate by a unanimous vote. The bill moved…

May 2, 2008 10:38 AM CDT

State Farm, Lawyers Trade Barbs in Whistle-Blower Suit

A team of lawyers representing two sisters who claim State Farm defrauded the federal government are fighting to stay on the case. State Farm says the lawyers should be disqualified because of “improper and unlawful conduct” that includes accessing protected computer data, according to a press release. The insurer claims…

Apr 29, 2008 3:23 PM CDT

7 Partners Leave Locke Lord Bissell, Form New Chicago Insurance Firm

A seven-partner contingent has left Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, including the chair of the recently merged 700-attorney firm’s insurance group, to form its own law practice. Led by Joseph Hinkhouse, 44, the new Chicago firm, which will be known as Hinkhouse Williams Walsh, will focus on representing insurance companies…

Apr 29, 2008 3:15 PM CDT

Mortgage Meltdown Issue: Arson

Can’t pay the mortgage? Or is your car or truck about to be repossessed? A small but growing number of financially stressed consumers has found an innovative, albeit criminal, solution to this problem: arson. Apparently seeking to recoup at least some of their money via insurance fraud, cash-strapped consumers are…

Apr 21, 2008 10:20 PM CDT

Firm Harmed By Bribery Scandal Will Recoup Damages

The fallout from revelations that the one-time King of Torts was involved in a judicial bribery scandal continues this week with news that a Jackson, Miss., law firm is entitled to fees and possibly punitive damages because it was harmed by the actions of Richard “Dickie” Scruggs. A state court…

Apr 16, 2008 7:46 PM CDT

La. High Court Rules for Insurers: Levee Breach Clearly a ‘Flood’

The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled today that the levee breach damage caused by Hurricane Katrina was clearly a “flood” and is excluded from insurance coverage. The decision reverses lower courts which had ruled that the definition of “flood” was ambiguous in all-risk homeowners policies, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The…

Apr 8, 2008 5:48 PM CDT

Lawyers Affilliated With Scruggs Barred From Katrina Litigation

A federal judge has ruled that a group of Mississippi attorneys who were once affiliated with disgraced plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs is barred from representing any policyholders in lawsuits against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. over Hurricane Katrina damage. Ruling in Gulfport, Miss., Friday, U.S. District Judge L.T.…

Apr 8, 2008 4:25 PM CDT

Fla. Can Bar Allstate From New Biz Unless it Reveals Rate Info, Court Says

A Florida appeals court ruled today that state insurance regulators have the authority to suspend Allstate from writing new policies because the insurance giant has failed to comply with subpoenas about their rates. The state’s Office of Insurance Regulation is seeking pricing information from the Illinois-based Allstate Corp. Florida wants…

Apr 4, 2008 9:34 PM CDT

Proskauer to Open Office in Chicago With Three Mayer Brown Partners

Proskauer Rose is opening a Chicago office despite the economic downturn that is battering some law firms. Staffing the office will be three partners from Mayer Brown who specialize in representing corporate policyholders in coverage disputes with their insurance companies, the Chicago Tribune reports. Mayer Brown is now planning to…

Apr 4, 2008 10:53 AM CDT

42 Sought in Alleged Auto Insurance Scam Run By One Calif. Family

After a several-year investigation, authorities today reportedly arrested about half of the 42 suspects they are seeking in a long-running insurance scam allegedly run primarily by one Southern California family. They say the group may have fraudulently collected millions of dollars from insurance companies over several decades. The claimed scheme,…

Mar 8, 2008 1:01 AM CST

D.C. Law Firm’s Hot Porsche Spontaneously Caught Fire, Suit Claims

A Washington, D.C., law firm that specializes in representing CIA operatives has something of a mystery on its hands: How did its 2003 Porsche Cayenne S spontaneously catch fire? And who should pay for it? A lawsuit (PDF) filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., asserts that the answer to…

Mar 7, 2008 7:04 PM CST

Scruggs’ Downslide: His Cases Had ‘Big Enemies and Bad Results’

Recently indicted plaintiffs lawyer Richard Scruggs bolstered his reputation as a legendary plaintiffs lawyer in the 1990s when he won settlements for shipyard workers exposed to asbestos and helped force tobacco companies to pay a $248 billion settlement. But in more recent years, Scruggs foundered as he pursued difficult cases…

Mar 7, 2008 1:17 PM CST

Judge Allows Eating-Disorder Insurance Suit

A New Jersey judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit seeking better insurance coverage for eating disorders. The suit claims Aetna Inc. is improperly classifying eating disorders as a mental illness with no biological basis, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. The classification allows the insurer to limit coverage under…

Feb 29, 2008 1:48 PM CST

Reports of New Scruggs Influence Payments Surface in FBI Notes

An FBI report says plaintiffs lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs agreed to pay two associates $500,000 to discourage Mississippi’s attorney general from indicting State Farm Insurance Co. A confidential source told the FBI that Scruggs feared State Farm would not settle his civil cases if the insurer also faced criminal charges,…

Feb 28, 2008 4:24 PM CST

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