Insurance Law

Marketers Sued for Mailings to Bump Seniors from No-Call List

Several states are suing insurance marketers over their attempts to bypass a ban on phone solicitation by mailings to seniors. The marketers are sending mail to seniors asking them to return a so called “lead card” requesting more information about estate planning or other topics, the Wall Street Journal reports…

Oct 26, 2007 1:35 PM CDT

Coverage a Hot Issue After California Fires

Updated: The fires sweeping much of Southern California this week, causing, at last report, an estimated $500 million in insured losses, have made homeowner insurance coverage a hot issue. Although the language of one’s individual homeowner’s policy is critical, certain insurance coverage is often standard, according to the Los Angeles…

Oct 23, 2007 5:05 PM CDT

WA Lawyers, Official v. Insurers in Ballot Battle

The state insurance commissioner is reportedly siding with tort lawyers in a hard-fought battle to persuade Washington state voters to approve a ballot measure that would greatly increase the damages for bad-faith failure to pay a claim. At present, no matter how egregious the insurer’s refusal to pay a legitimate…

Oct 10, 2007 10:48 PM CDT

Insurer Settles Senior Annuity Suit

Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America has agreed to settle a lawsuit that contended the company sold annuities to senior citizens that locked up their money for as long as 15 years. The suit by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson contended the company did not tell seniors they could…

Oct 9, 2007 6:38 PM CDT

Judge Sanctions Lawyers Up to $5 Million

In a blistering rebuke of some of Philadelphia’s most prominent lawyers and law firms, a federal judge has sanctioned them—and their clients—for failing to cooperate with discovery in a medical insurance coverage class action. Among those being required to pay up to $5 million in plaintiffs costs by U.S. District…

Oct 3, 2007 5:15 PM CDT

In-House DuPont Lawyers Post Profit

Like many corporations, DuPont Co. spends a lot of money on its in-house law department. The department’s annual budget was about $230 million last year. However, unlike most corporations, the Wilmington, Del.-based chemical giant has been getting more than it pays for. The company’s in-house counsel brought in $290 million…

Oct 2, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

A ‘Bridge’ Too Far?

Oral Surgeon’s Private Porcine Prank on Patient Goes Public, Leaves Bad Taste in Everyone’s Mouth

Oct 1, 2007 4:34 PM CDT

Legal Info Can Save Some Cancer Patients

Corrected: A little-known federal law entitles breast and cervical cancer patients under age 65 to Medicare treatment, even if they wouldn’t normally qualify for the federally funded health care program for the indigent. But in a number of states only some health care centers qualify for Medicare reimbursement under the…

Sep 13, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

Big-Firm Alumni Have Van, Will Practice

Three former big-firm attorneys in Atlanta have made a name for themselves in a way that would have been hard to predict years ago. Jamie Hernan, Christopher Taylor and Jerome Lee have not only left King & Spalding and formed their own firm but bought a van in which they…

Sep 11, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

Gov. Testifies in Katrina Trial

Prosecutors made a pre-emptive move yesterday by calling Louisiana’s governor to testify in the trial of two nursing home owners accused of failing to prevent 35 Katrina-related deaths. The testimony of Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was not a clear victory for either side, the New York Times reports. She testified…

Aug 29, 2007 12:54 PM CDT

11th Circuit: Return Katrina Docs!

In a blunt opinion filed today, a federal appeals court says two sisters portrayed as whistle-blowers in ongoing litigation over Hurricane Katrina insurance claims must return some 15,000 internal documents concerning State Farm Insurance Co. The unpublished ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is potentially important not…

Aug 24, 2007 9:38 PM CDT

Insurer Fights Judge’s Claim

An insurance company is seeking a declaratory judgment that it owes no more than $3.4 million already paid to a Massachusetts judge who won a successful defamation judgment against the Boston Herald. Judge Ernest B. Murphy wrote Mutual Insurance Co. Ltd. on July 17, claiming he should be paid an…

Aug 23, 2007 11:55 AM CDT

Scruggs, Firm in Criminal Contempt Case

A well-known Mississippi plaintiffs attorney and his law firm have been charged with criminal contempt by special federal prosecutors after they defied a federal judge’s order to return internal claims documents to an insurance company. Appointed by U.S. District Judge William M. Acker Jr. after the local U.S. attorney in…

Aug 22, 2007 4:44 PM CDT

Indicted Appeals Judge Suspended

A Pennsylvania appeals judge has been suspended as he fights charges of insurance fraud. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered the suspension of Judge Michael Joyce on Friday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Joyce was indicted on Wednesday for mail fraud and money laundering. He is accused of claiming he was suffering…

Aug 20, 2007 10:15 AM CDT

FL Fights for Internal State Farm Docs

A battle between Florida regulators and the state’s biggest property insurer is capturing the attention of lawyers there and elsewhere, because of what’s really at issue. Property insurance rate-setting is the official topic. But attorneys on both sides are waiting to see whether State Farm, a Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer, has…

Aug 15, 2007 5:26 PM CDT