Director and Officer Liability

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Sarah Abrams

The Trump administration has already demonstrated that it intends to actively pursue tariff enforcement, as discussed in prior posts on this site (most recently here). One of the enforcement tools the administration is using is the False Claims Act. In the following post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the ways the administration is using the False Claims Act as an enforcement tool, in the context of two recent enforcement actions. My thanks to Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: False Claims Act Tariff Enforcement

The directors’ and officers’ liability environment is always changing, but 2025 was a particularly eventful year, with important consequences for the D&O insurance marketplace. The past year’s many developments also have significant implications for what may lie ahead in 2026 – and possibly for years to come.  I have set out below the Top Ten D&O Stories of 2025, with a focus on future implications. Please note that on Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 11:00 am EST, my colleagues Marissa Streckfus, Chris Bertola, and I will be conducting a free, hour-long webinar in which we will discuss The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2025. Registration for the webinar can be found here. Please join us for the webinar.Continue Reading The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2025

Sarah Abrams

In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the potential liability and litigation risks surrounding celebrity-branded companies in light of the recent litigated dispute that has arisen between golfing legend Jack Nicklaus and the company he founded. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site.Continue Reading Guest Post: Slice and Dice: Celebrity-Branded Companies and Litigation Risk

Sexual harassment allegations can of course support an employment practices claim. But if the conduct results in harm to the company through an adverse judgment, can the same misconduct allegations also support a claim under Delaware law for breach of fiduciary duty? At least one past Delaware court said, in the context of that case, that the answer is “yes.” However, a recent Delaware Chancery Court decision took a different view, holding that “interpersonal” conduct alleged was “not a matter of corporate internal affairs.” A copy of the December 1, 2025, decision can be found here.Continue Reading Del. Court: Harassment Charges Do Not Establish Fiduciary Duty Breach         

As the story developed last month surrounding the spectacular collapse of auto-parts giant First Brands Group, I kept waiting for the lawsuit. The tale of the CEO’s supposed lavish personal spending, as well as the company’s massive debt and apparently missing funds, seemed scripted for a securities class action complaint. The securities suit I thought surely was coming never materialized – because, it turns out, Patrick James, the company’s founder and CEO, was also its sole equity owner. So, no shareholder suit. Which is not to say that there would never be a lawsuit.

Indeed, last week, the perhaps inevitable lawsuit did materialize, but not as a securities suit; rather, the lawsuit is in the form of an adversary proceeding against the former CEO and his affiliated entities brought by the company as debtor in its bankruptcy proceeding. And the complaint? It’s a doozy. And as discussed below, it also raises some interesting D&O insurance coverage questions as well.Continue Reading First Brands Sues Its Founder for “Grievous Misconduct”

Sarah Abrams

Earlier this year, the parties to the consolidated antitrust litigation involving college athletes name, image, and likeness rights (NIL) entered a settlement. The settlement is generally referred to as the “House Settlement.” In the time since the settlement, there have been further developments raising questions about the settlement. Among those developments is that certain college athletes have raised objections to the settlement. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams takes a look at the athletes’ objections and considers their management liability implications. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Post-House Settlement Objection Liability

Sarah Abrams

On September 19, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order entitled “Restriction on Entry of Nonimmigrant Workers” (here), which placed new restrictions, costs, and conditions on H-1B visas. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the new H-1B visa provisions and considers the potential implications for D&O risk exposure. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to the site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: H-1B Visa D&O Problem?

Sarah Abrams

In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the new whistleblower program that the DOJ’s antitrust division recently announced in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, and considers the D&O liability and insurance implications. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Going Postal

Sarah Abrams

Through several different regulatory and legislative actions, including through Executive Orders and the passage of the GENIUS ACT, the current administration has created a favorable environment for cryptocurrency. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, examines the recently adopted legislation and regulatory…