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Mealey's Insurance Insolvency

  • December 20, 2024

    3rd Circuit Reverses, Deems Joint Underwriting Association A Public Entity

    PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed in part and affirmed in part a district court’s ruling that issued an injunction preventing enforcement of certain legislative changes to the state-created Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association (JUA), which provides coverage to health care providers, including those previously insured by insurers in liquidation, finding that the JUA is a public entity rather than a private one due to the state’s “legally protectable interest in the JUA.”

  • December 18, 2024

    2 Investors Want To Pursue Resolution With Vesttoo Affiliate In Israel

    WILMINGTON, Del. — Two Israeli investors have asked a Delaware federal bankruptcy court for relief from the injunction in the Chapter 11 liquidation of Vesttoo Ltd. and its dozens of affiliates so they can pursue arbitration and/or liquidation proceedings in Israel.

  • December 17, 2024

    Oklahoma Judge Approves Over $614K In Expenses For Insurer’s Receivership Estate

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma state court judge approved a motion filed by Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready, as receiver for property and casualty insurer Go Insurance, which the court previously ordered into liquidation, seeking approval of certain fees and expenses, including $614,121.54 in administrative expenses.

  • December 16, 2024

    U.K. Insurer Wins Stay Of Arbitration In Reinsurance Billings Dispute

    NEW YORK — Saying in part that the U.S.-based defendant didn’t show “by a preponderance of the evidence that an agreement to arbitrate exists between the parties,” a New York federal judge cited “New York state law” in granting a U.K.-based insurer’s petition to stay arbitration.

  • December 13, 2024

    Judge Extends Claims Deadline Objection In Workers’ Comp Insurer Chapter 11 Case

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal bankruptcy judge granted a litigation trustee’s 13th motion to extend the deadline to object to claims in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding of Patriot National Inc., a workers’ compensation insurance firm for which a litigation trust is now acting as successor-in-interest.

  • December 12, 2024

    Stipulation Of Dismissal Filed In D&O Insurance Coverage Dispute With Receiver

    OKLAHOMA CITY — A receiver for an insurer in liquidation filed in an Oklahoma federal court a stipulation of dismissal in his declaratory judgment suit against a D&O insurer that insured the parent company of the insurer in liquidation.

  • December 12, 2024

    TRO Bid By Risk Retention Group Denied In Breach Of Contract Missed Premiums Row

    MISSOULA, Mont. — A Montana federal judge denied a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by a risk retention group (RRG) in its breach of contract suit over missed premiums against insureds and a related entity, finding that the insurer’s allegations regarding the potential for liquidation fail to show the irreparable harm required for a TRO.

  • December 12, 2024

    Insurer Seeks Summary Judgment Argument In Asbestos Coverage Row

    OMAHA, Neb. — National Indemnity Co. (NICO) has moved in Nebraska federal court for oral argument on pending motions for partial summary judgment in its suit to enforce obligations by defendants it calls reinsurers — one of whom is now insolvent — for liability NICO incurred related to claims for asbestos exposure.

  • December 06, 2024

    10th Circuit Issues Reversal Of Judgment For Liability Insurer In Coverage Row

    DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a district court’s judgment for a liability insurer in a dispute between it and a health insurer regarding coverage to the health insurer in an underlying multidistrict litigation antitrust dispute involving an excess errors and omissions (E&O) policy issued by a now-insolvent insurer.

  • December 05, 2024

    Bid For Insurance Magnate’s Halfway House Stay Denied In Money Laundering Case

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina federal magistrate judge denied a motion filed by insurance magnate Greg Lindberg, the former owner of now-insolvent insurers, for detention at a residential reentry center or halfway house pending sentencing after he pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy regarding his $2 billion scheme to defraud insurers and policyholders by funneling money through his extensive global network of insurance companies and was convicted on retrial in a related criminal proceeding.

  • December 05, 2024

    Judge Tosses Suit By Insurance Mogul With ‘Turbulent History Of Litigation’

    TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida federal judge on Dec. 4 issued a sua sponte order dismissing without prejudice a declaratory judgment suit filed by insurance mogul Greg Lindberg against the North Carolina Department of Insurance and its commissioner regarding a receivership seeking in part a declaratory judgment as to the total liability owed to Lindberg’s now-insolvent North Carolina insurers, finding that “the parties’ dispute is better litigated in the state court of North Carolina.”

  • December 05, 2024

    Class Counsel Confirms $92M Was Wired To Administrator In Insurers’ ACA Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a federal judge entered an order requiring class counsel to return “$92,424,335.84, the excess of the $184,848,671.67 previously distributed for fees over the current fee award,” counsel filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims confirming that it wired the $92,424,335.84 to nondispute subclass members in a risk-corridor payment dispute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • December 04, 2024

    Magnate Seeks Extension In $1B RICO Insurance Fraud Case, Cites Jail Difficulties

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Citing “significant restrictions” related to insurance magnate Greg Lindberg’s communication with counsel while being held at a county jail pending sentencing in separate criminal actions, Lindberg and his co-defendant asset management companies moved in North Carolina federal court for more time to respond to an amended complaint in a suit accusing them and other parties of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations related to their purported participation in a $1 billion scheme to defraud now-insolvent insurers once owned by Lindberg.

  • December 04, 2024

    Life Insurer’s Rehabilitator Aims To Present ‘Key Terms’ Of Plan ‘By Mid-2025’

    HARTFORD, Conn. — The rehabilitator of a life insurer and the subsidiaries that reinsure its liabilities told a Connecticut state court in an accounting and status report that he “expects to have a significantly improved reinsurance management program in place by year-end 2024” and aims to present “the key terms of a plan of rehabilitation by mid-2025.”

  • December 02, 2024

    Status Conference Scheduled In Hurricane Coverage Dispute With Insolvent Insurer

    LAFAYETTE, La. — A Louisiana federal magistrate judge issued an order scheduling a follow-up status conference in a homeowner’s suit against his now-insolvent insurer for its purported failure to cover damages caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

  • November 22, 2024

    COMMENTARY: 2024 Key Insurance Decisions, Trends & Developments & A Look Ahead To 2025

    By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Lisa M. Roccanova

  • November 22, 2024

    Louisiana Panel Refuses To Review Hurricanes Laura, Delta Coverage Suit

    BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana appeals panel denied Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association’s writ seeking review of a lower court’s amended judgment in a coverage dispute arising from property damage that was caused by hurricanes Laura and Delta, finding that although it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the insurer’s appeal of the amended judgment, it has supervisory jurisdiction to deny the writ.

  • November 21, 2024

    Settlements Approved In Diocese Bankruptcy Case With $85M In Insurers’ Contribution

    NEW YORK — A New York federal bankruptcy judge granted a motion filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., in its Chapter 11 case seeking approval of settlements whereby the diocese’s insurers agreed to pay more than $85 million into a trust for the benefit of child sexual abuse victims.

  • November 20, 2024

    Stipulation Approved In Bishop’s Row With Insurers Over Sex Abuse Suit Coverage

    SAN FRANCISCO —  A California federal judge filed a docket-only order granting the parties’ stipulation seeking to reschedule a case management conference in a suit filed by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, Calif., against numerous insurers and the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA), which the plaintiff believes assumed responsibilities for its now-insolvent insurer, seeking a declaratory judgment stating that the plaintiff is entitled to a defense and indemnity regarding covered claims for the more than 300 suits filed against it related to alleged clergy sexual abuse.

  • November 20, 2024

    Guaranty Association Seeks Homeowner’s Documents In Windstorm Damage Loss Suit

    BARTOW, Fla. — The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) filed a request for production of documents in a Florida state court in a homeowner’s suit asserting that FIGA, as the alleged statutory obligor for his now-insolvent homeowners insurer, breached its obligations under state law by failing to adequately compensate the insured for his loss related to windstorm damage.

  • November 19, 2024

    Vice Chancellor Sets Bond At Over $4M In Health Plan Liquidation Proceeding

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware Chancery Court vice chancellor set a bond of $4,498,315 in response to a motion filed by the assignee for the benefits of creditors of Friday Health Plans Inc. (FHP) and Friday Health Plans Management Services Co. Inc. (FHP MSC), seeking that amount in bond which the assignee says “represents the higher value of two sets of appraisals” and cash on hand in the liquidation proceeding of FHP and FHP MSC.

  • November 18, 2024

    Insurance Mogul Says Deposition Sealing Not Needed In SEC Fraud Suit Against Him

    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Insurance mogul Greg Lindberg, a former owner of insurers now in receivership, on Nov. 15 filed in a North Carolina federal court a notice stating that “continued sealing” of certain transcript excerpts of his deposition is unnecessary in a suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that he, his advisory services company and its former executive defrauded clients of more than $75 million.

  • November 18, 2024

    Parties Dispute Former CEO’s Bid For Severance Benefits During Liquidation

    MADISON, Wis. — The termination of former Wisconsin Reinsurance Corp. and 1st Auto & Casualty Insurance CEO Jason A. Fogg has become an issue in those entities’ liquidation, with Fogg filing an objection in Wisconsin state court to denial of his claim for more than $660,000 and the liquidator countering that the termination was “for cause” under his executive employment agreement.

  • November 15, 2024

    Defendants Seeks Extension In $1B RICO Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving Magnate

    RALEIGH, N.C. —  Defendant asset management companies on Nov. 15 moved in North Carolina federal court for more time to respond to an amended complaint in a suit accusing them, former insurance magnate Greg E. Lindberg and other parties of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations related to their purported participation in a $1 billion scheme to defraud now-insolvent insurers once owned by Lindberg.

  • November 15, 2024

    Correction Of $92M Attorney Fee Sought In Insurers’ ACA Dispute With Government

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Objecting class members and class counsel on Nov. 14 urged the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to correct the $92,424,335.84 judgment awarded to class counsel in a risk-corridor payment dispute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), with class counsel arguing that the attorney fee owed to it should come from the nondispute subclasses