In June, the South Carolina Supreme Court addressed waiver of the attorney-client privilege in bad faith refusal to provide coverage cases and found that, under South Carolina law, an insurer that asserts its subjective understanding of the law, as informed
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South Carolina Supreme Court Says “No” to Binding Non-Signatories to Arbitration Clause
The Supreme Court of South Carolina recently determined that non-signatory insureds could not be compelled to arbitrate their claims under an arbitration clause in an agency agreement where the insureds did not obtain a direct benefit from that agreement.
In…
$25.5 Million Oklahoma Verdict: Jackpot Justice or Case Study on Bad Faith Litigation?
We all know how prevalent bad faith claims are. It seems like almost every case involving disputed policy benefits includes one. Many have no merit and should be disposed of on summary judgment. The rest, however, arguably have at least some degree of…
DOL Regulations on Association Health Plans: How Will They Affect the Health Insurance Marketplace?
Last year, the President issued an Executive Order directing the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue regulations to expand access to association health plans (AHPs). Earlier this year, the DOL issued final regulations and FAQs on AHPs.…
Alabama’s Act Aimed at Prohibiting Financial Abuse of Elders – Should It Be Expanded to Cover Insurers and Insurance Agents?
Alabama’s Elder Abuse Act attempts to protect financial abuse of elders. But by not including insurance companies and insurance agents, does the Act go far enough?
Following up on the blog post from late June concerning the intersection of elder…
CNA Long-Term Care Class Action — Could It Have Long-Term Consequences?
A long-term care insurance class action filed in May 2018 highlights the importance of clearly defined policy language. At dispute in the lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the definition of…
Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration of ERISA Action
In Munro v. Univ. of S. Cal., the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the district court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration of an ERISA action brought by current and former employees of the University of Southern California (USC).…
Underwritten: Covering Topics on Life, Health, Disability and Long-Term Care Insurance
A Letter from the Editors
Because each state’s laws related to insurance are unique and because federal courts’ application of ERISA to a set of facts can vary from circuit to circuit, there exist myriad nuances in the law as…
Blue Cross Blue Shield MDL Judge Certifies Appeal of Summary Judgment Ruling
On June 12, 2018, Judge David Proctor certified a “pure question of law” to the Eleventh Circuit in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, which could “materially advance the ultimate termination of this litigation.”
Long-Term Care and Elder Abuse: Do They Intersect?
In at least one state, California, the answer to the question of “Do issues related to long-term care and elder abuse intersect?” is yes. The California Welfare and Institutions Code defines “financial abuse” of an elder adult to include an “entity”…