As 2021 runs in search of what’s new, we realize that the pandemic disruption has continued through 2021. The NMLS Ombudsman Meeting was held virtually and the upcoming American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) Annual Conference will be held in person, but with reduced capacity. These frame the search for “a” normal as licensed mortgage companies balance licensing requirements and health risks while serving their borrowers ...
The final rule promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve), the Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) went into effect on July 1, 2019, to implement the portion of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act mandating regulated lending institutions to accept private flood insurance policies ...
Over the past weekend, a series of tornadoes and severe storms caused significant injuries and property damage across seven states, including Texas. In Garland and Rowlett, northeast of Dallas, wreckage from businesses and homes, trees, power lines, cars and other debris litter the streets for miles ...
On 14 July 2006, the Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese Governments signed a ground-breaking agreement entitled “An Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned” (the “Arrangement”), under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts ...
We are all too familiar with stories of contaminated food and drugs that sicken and even kill consumers. Given the increasing number of product recalls and their enormous financial impact, it is not surprising the demand for recall insurance has increased exponentially in the middle market. Why has the number of recalls increased so dramatically? The answer is twofold ...
Recently, the IRS has intensified enforcement of information reporting compliance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Information reporting penalties apply in addition to any penalties assessed for failures to meet the employer shared responsibility provisions, known as the employer mandate ...
Two federal cases in the Northern District of Ohio recently reached very different conclusions on whether the state’s COVID-19 shutdowns of restaurants permit valid claims for business interruption insurance coverage. Reviewing essentially the same facts and policy provisions, one court found for the insurer, holding no coverage to exist. The other found for the policyholder, awarding coverage. The opposite results will no doubt lead to further upcoming appellate activity in Ohio ...
A new rule promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals, also known as CCR or coal ash, raises the risk for civil claims and the need for insurance to cover them.1 The rule, which takes effect Aug. 29, 2018, revises regulations issued in 2015 and has the stated intent of providing utilities and states “more flexibility in how CCR is managed ...
Claims of bad faith present unique challenges for insurers (and their counsel) with respect to attorney-client privilege: if the insurer’s state of mind is at issue, is the legal advice on which the insurer relied also at issue, thereby waiving the privilege? And if so, under what circumstances? The following addresses this issue in the context of a common practice for insurance counsel—authoring denial letters—and two recent holdings that should serve as warnings in th
If 2016 is memorable as a year of immense political upheaval, 2017 may offer more of the same. Already, in the first months of 2017, significant domestic political events have transpired, with the promise of more to come. These are events of significant consequence to specific companies, discrete industries and America’s global trading partners ...
India, being a common law country, enjoys certain privileges when it comes to Trademark Law. In addition to priority rights for “first to use”, and the remedy of “passing off’’ for unregistered marks, there exists another age-old common-law right, not typically considered in global strategy - the transborder reputation of an extra territorial trademark ...
On 3 December 2012 Guernsey brought into force its new image rights legislation which allows, for the first time anywhere in the world, for such rights to be registered. Gary Assim, Shoosmiths In essence this law has created a new form of intellectual property right for anyone, anywhere in the world, who is famous, or might be in the future, to protect their image by registering it ...
How does one resolve a dispute involving thousands of individual items where it is impractical to deal separately with each one? A recent decision in the Technology and Construction Court provides some guidance - but raises further questions. The case is Standard Life Assurance Limited v Gleeds (UK)(a firm) and Others (December 2020, TCC). Standard Life had engaged Costain as its main contractor for the development of a large residential and retail development in Berkshire ...
Following the important judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal on August 2, 20121, the Court has ruled once again, on September 27, 20122, on the exclusions for gross fault with respect to professional liability insurance. In addition, the decision confirmed, as provided in the Civil Code, that an intentional fault is never covered. THE FACTS After their mother’s death, Pierre Audet and Marie Audet ("the Audet") hired Jacques-André Thibault ("Thibault") to manage their assets ...
Following the important judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal on August 2, 20121, the Court has ruled once again, on September 27, 20122, on the exclusions for gross fault with respect to professional liability insurance. In addition, the decision confirmed, as provided in the Civil Code, that an intentional fault is never covered ...
An expert panel of the Pro League (the organization representing the interests of all professional Belgian football clubs) appointed by the latter and presided by Belgian minister of State, Melchior Wathelet, was consulted on the role of football agents within the current Belgian football landscape. The panel was asked to formulate recommendations and ‘best practice’-proposals to the Pro League ...
Texas operators and service companies need to carefully consider how a recent trend in Texas law affects the availability of insurance coverage - for themselves and their counterparties - for contractual liability. Most general liability policies, which insure claims for bodily injury and property damage, exclude coverage for liability assumed under a contract, unless the liability either exists in the absence of the contract or was assumed in a defined “insured contract ...
