When the New York Court of Appeals issued its decision late last year in Kramer v. Phoenix Life Ins. Co.,[1] holding that New York law permitted a person to procure an insurance policy on his or her own life and immediately transfer it to one without an insurable interest in that life, even where the

Issues of fraud arise in numerous contexts in the insurance industry.  Not only are questions of fraud often relevant to determining the validity of claims, they also arise in determining if a claim was timely disclosed at the inception of the insuring relationship. 

Professional liability insurance policies purchased by lawyers and other professionals typically contain

Court of Appeals Annualizes $30 Million Limit of Three-Year Excess Policy But Refuses To Find Additional Year Of Policy Limit Because Of Two-Month Extension

Union Carbide Corporation contended that the six insurance companies that provided it with $30 million of “fifth excess layer” coverage owed it $90 million – $30 million for each

When the plaintiff in this case was laid off from her job at PepsiAmericas, Inc. (Pepsi), she entered into a severance agreement under which she agreed not to file “any complaints, charges, lawsuits, or any other claims against the Company arising out of the employment relationship and/or termination of employment.” In return, Pepsi agreed to

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has finally put an end to the wave of controversy that has surrounded the Village of Ocean Beach Police Department for the past few years. Back in 2007, several disgruntled ex-employees of the Ocean Beach Police Department commenced an action against the Village of

Construction workers and landowners brought 90 negligence claims alleging that owners of more than 15.5 acres of land in Dania Beach, Florida, had been negligent in releasing, discharging, emitting or otherwise permitting extremely hazardous toxic chemicals from the soil and groundwater at the land; removing or transporting contaminated soil and groundwater from the property;

Court Rejects Claim That Non-Original Equipment Manufacturer Parts Are “Universally Inferior”

Owners of vehicles damaged in auto accidents contended in a class action lawsuit against their insurer that the estimates by their insurer’s claims adjusters were too low because the adjusters used prices for non-original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) crash parts rather than for OEM

There have been a number of decisions from courts across the country – including from New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals – in cases involving stranger-originated life insurance policies (“STOLI”) since our October 2010 Legal Bulletin, “Ruling Permits Life Insurance Company’s Claims To Proceeds In Case Involving Alleged STOLI Fraud.” That Legal Bulletin

The plaintiff in this case was hired by the Gateway Playhouse in the Long Island village of Bellport to perform in two musicals during the summer of 2008. During that time, she lived in free housing provided by Gateway on its premises. On the morning of July 15, 2008, as was her practice throughout the

After Sharon Lissauer allegedly invested more than $11 million with Bernard Madoff, and after she realized that she had lost millions of dollars when his Ponzi scheme collapsed, Ms. Lissauer brought a lawsuit in federal court in an effort to recover that money. The defendant Ms. Lissauer named in her lawsuit was Fireman’s Fund