Kevin LaCroix

Firm/Organization: Kevin LaCroix

Latest Articles

D&O Insurance: Prior Acts Exclusion Precludes Coverage for Post-Past Acts Date Conduct

By Kevin LaCroix on June 23, 2019

In a noteworthy decision that raises a number of interesting issues, District of Minnesota Judge Ann D. Montgomery, applying Minnesota law, held that a company’s excess D&O insurance policy’s prior acts exclusion precludes coverage for the entirety of claims asserted against the company, even with respect to wrongful acts alleged to have taken place after the prior acts date. This case involves a number of twists and turns, while raising some important questions. Judge…

The D&O Diary

D&O Insurance: Thinking About the Invasion of Privacy Exclusion

By Kevin LaCroix on June 20, 2019

As the number of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class actions has risen in recent years, one recurring question has been whether or not there is coverage under the defendant companies’ D&O insurance policies for these claims. The specific issue is whether or not D&O policy’s “invasion of privacy” exclusion precludes coverage for TCPA claims. In the latest ruling to address these issues, Southern District of Florida Judge Robin L. Rosenberg, applying Florida law,…

The D&O Diary

Guest Post: Is it Really that Bad? Follow-On Offerings and Section 11 Suits in State Court

By Kevin LaCroix on June 19, 2019

In a recent post, I took a look at the rise in the number of state court securities class action lawsuits that have been filed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Cyan case. In the following guest post, Priya Cherian Huskins of Woodruff Sawyer & Co. takes a deeper look at the state court securities class action data to assess the extent of the threat of state court securities…

The D&O Diary

Who is D&O Insurance For?

By Kevin LaCroix on June 18, 2019

In an interesting opinion, the Fifth Circuit has set aside a settlement and related bar order that had been approved by the district court in litigation arising out of the Stanford Financial Ponzi scheme scandal. The appellate court said that the district court lacked authority to approve the settlement in light of several of its features, including its provisions cutting off the claims of several former Stanford Financial employees and managers to the defunct…

The D&O Diary

Proposal for E.U. Collective Redress Mechanism Advances

By Kevin LaCroix on June 17, 2019

As I have noted in prior posts, there has been in recent years a slowly developing E.U. initiative for the introduction of a rights of collective redress on a Union-wide basis. As discussed here, in April 2018, the European Commission introduced a proposal – as part of what it called a “New Deal for Consumers” – that would introduce a European collective redress right for consumers. More recently, on March 26, 2019, the EU…

The D&O Diary

The U.S. Securities Litigation Exposure of Non-U.S. Companies with Level I ADRs

By Kevin LaCroix on June 16, 2019

I have been fortunate in recent years to be able to travel around the world and to speak to D&O insurance professionals in a wide variety of different countries. One recurring question I get in these meetings has to do with non-U.S. companies that have Level I American Depository Receipts (ADRs) trading in the U.S. The question is usually something along the lines of – “these Level 1 ADR companies don’t have U.S. securities litigation…

The D&O Diary

Tribune Execs Must Contribute Personal Assets to $200 Million Settlement

By Kevin LaCroix on June 13, 2019

Billionaire Sam Zell and other former executives of the bankrupt Tribune Company have reached a $200 million deal to settle the bankruptcy trustee’s adversarial claims against them arising out of the disastrous 2007 leveraged buyout (LBO) of the company. According to press reports about the settlement, the $200 million settlement amount will “significantly” exceed the company’s remaining D&O insurance; the settlement amount in excess of the remaining insurance is to be split among the various…

The D&O Diary

D&O Insurance: Continuity of Coverage as a Counter to Late Notice

By Kevin LaCroix on June 12, 2019

As anyone involved in the world of D&O insurance knows, a frequently recurring coverage issue is the question of whether or not the insured has provided timely notice of claim as required by the policy. These kinds of disputes takes a variety of forms, but one particular recurring variation involves the question whether or not the policyholder has satisfied the policy’s notice requirements when a claim is made against the policyholder during the policy period…

The D&O Diary

Chubb Sounds Securities Litigation Alarm, Calls for Reform

By Kevin LaCroix on June 11, 2019

Regular readers of this blog know that the statistics surrounding U.S. securities litigation in recent years are nothing short of alarming, including, for example, both record numbers of lawsuits and record percentages of listed companies sued. Severity trends are concerning as well. All of these trends are exacerbated by the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 Cyan decision, which opens companies conducting securities offerings to multiple, conflicting lawsuits in state and federal…

The D&O Diary

Mootness Fees: The Latest in the Merger Objection Litigation Phenomenon

By Kevin LaCroix on June 10, 2019

One of the most significant phenomena in the world of corporate and securities litigation has been the rise of merger objection litigation. As has been well-documented, merger objection litigation reached the point in recent years that virtually every public company merger transaction drew at least one lawsuit. The circumstances surrounding merger objection litigation began to change after the Delaware courts evinced their displeasure with this kind of litigation in a series of rulings that…

Kevin LaCroix

D&O Insurance: Prior Acts Exclusion Precludes Coverage for Post-Past Acts Date Conduct

D&O Insurance: Thinking About the Invasion of Privacy Exclusion

Guest Post: Is it Really that Bad? Follow-On Offerings and Section 11 Suits in State Court

Who is D&O Insurance For?

Proposal for E.U. Collective Redress Mechanism Advances

The U.S. Securities Litigation Exposure of Non-U.S. Companies with Level I ADRs

Tribune Execs Must Contribute Personal Assets to $200 Million Settlement

D&O Insurance: Continuity of Coverage as a Counter to Late Notice

Chubb Sounds Securities Litigation Alarm, Calls for Reform

Mootness Fees: The Latest in the Merger Objection Litigation Phenomenon

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