Chittenden, Murday & Novotny’s article “Recent Developments in Health Insurance, Life Insurance, and Disability Insurance Law” was recently published in the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal at 55:2 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 323 (Spring 2020).
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Recent Developments Article
Congress has not updated the TCPA lately and new modes of communication keep popping up. This client bulletin examines the circuit split regarding the receipt of unwanted text messages and whether they are sufficient to establish Article III standing.
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Related Documents: Client Bulletin: May 2020
CMN trial lawyers Elizabeth Doolin, Julie Wall, and Kaitlyn Luther won a decisive victory in the Eastern District of New York following a bench trial before Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara. At issue was a $10 million life insurance policy procured pursuant to a fraudulent investment scheme and through multiple misrepresentations concerning the applicant’s finances, other insurance, and premium financing. The policy investors brought a breach of contract claim for the $10 million death benefit proceeds, and the insurer counterclaimed for rescission and fraud against the investors and the writing agent. After a four-day bench trial in the spring of 2019, Judge Bulsara issued his findings of fact and conclusions of law on April 17, 2020, finding the policy rescinded as a result of the insured’s material misrepresentations, allowing the insurer to equitably retain all premiums paid due to the fraud involved in the policy’s procurement, and holding that the writing agent was liable for fraud. CMN’s lawyers are always prepared to go the distance for their clients, and were pleased to bring home a win this spring.
Cases involving accidental death claims for auto-erotic asphyxiation often yield different results. The District of Massachusetts recently entered summary judgment for an insurer on such a claim, in large part because the insured’s expectation that he would survive the incident was deemed unreasonable. Wightman v. Securian Life Ins. Co., No. 18-11285-DJC, 2020 WL 1703772 (D. Mass. Apr. 8, 2020). This Client Bulletin takes a look at that decision and compares it with other recent decisions on this issue.
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Related Documents: Client Bulletin: April 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant financial strain on the economy. In order to assist those impacted and to ease some of their financial burdens, many states are requesting that insurance carriers across all lines of business provide longer grace periods for premium payments and other accommodations to maintain coverage and access to insurance during this public health emergency. This Client Bulletin summarizes the actions taken by the various state departments of insurance to encourage insurers to work with those who are concerned about their ability to timely pay their insurance premiums.
This is an ongoing effort and we will update this Client Bulletin as the efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic further evolve. For more information, please click below.
Related Documents: Client Bulletin: April 2020
The Supreme Court recently granted a petition for writ of certiorari in Barr v. American Assoc. of Political Consultants Inc., 19-631, which will consider whether the TCPA violated the First Amendment by prohibiting the use of an autodialer in certain circumstances but not others.
For more information on the decision, please click below.
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In a decision with significant implications for claims brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Seventh Circuit held that a device used to send text messages only falls within the statutory definition of an automatic telephone dialing system… For more information on the decision, please click below.
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Two recent decisions shed light on whether a plaintiff has Article III standing to pursue claims alleging procedural violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in federal court. For more information on the decision, please click below.
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In 1987, Iowa amended its slayer statute — which originally disqualified beneficiaries who “feloniously” killed an insured — to disqualify beneficiaries who “intentionally and unjustifiably” caused the death of an insured. For more information on the decision, please click below.
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Does ERISA preempt a state law that requires certain employers to provide “fringe benefits” to their employees? The Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, recently answered “no,” in response to that question. For more information on the decision, please click below.
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