Regular readers of this blog know that a recurring D&O insurance coverage issue is a question of whether or not the D&O policy provides coverage for various types of regulatory and prosecutorial investigations. In the following guest post, Syed Ahmad and Andrea DeField take a look at a recent Delaware Superior Court decision in which the court held that the D&O policy at issue provides coverage for costs incurred in responding to a civil investigative demand (CID). Syed is a partner and Andrea is an associate at the Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP law firm. I would like to thank Syed and Andrea for allowing me to publish their article 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 Syed and Andrea’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Delaware Court Weighs In on the CID Coverage Debate
The number of workplace discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during Fiscal Year 2018 (which ended September 30, 2018) declined to the lowest level since FY 2006, according the EEOC’s recent statistical release. But while the number of charges overall are down, the number of sexual harassment charges increased, as did the number of sexual harassment lawsuits the agency filed. The increase in sexual harassment actions seems to suggest a greater awareness of these issues in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The EEOC’s enforcement and litigation statistics can be found 
One of the most important recent legal and regulatory developments has been the elevation of privacy rights and concerns. Privacy issues are related to but distinct from cybersecurity issues and concerns, because privacy is concerned about more than just keeping data free from unauthorized intrusion. Privacy concerns also involve how data is used and to what kinds of controls the persons whose rights are affected have over the data. As more and more businesses gather and use user data and other potentially sensitive personal information, they will increasingly find themselves grappling with the growing wave of privacy regulation and legislation. Among the many potential exposures these circumstances create for companies and their senior officials is the growing possibility of privacy-related D&O litigation. Indeed, the growing potential for privacy-related claims may be among the most important emerging D&O liability exposures.
As I have noted in numerous prior posts, the question of whether or not a D&O insurance policy provides coverage for a subpoena is a recurring issue. A recent decision out of the Northern District of Illinois denied the relevant D&O insurers’ motion to dismiss a declaratory judgment action in which a policyholder sought coverage for its costs incurred of responding to a DOJ subpoena. The decision is interesting in a number of respects, including in particular the court’s willingness to consider all of the circumstances in concluding that the policy’s Wrongful Act requirement had been met. Northern District of Illinois Judge 
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Due to the volume of smaller settlements and the absence of any jumbo settlements, the aggregate amount of securities class action lawsuit settlements declined “dramatically” in 2017 compared to the prior year, according to the latest securities suit settlement study from Cornerstone Research. According to the report, which is entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements: 2017 Review and Analysis,” in addition to the decline in the total value of settlements, average and median settlement values all also declined in 2017. The report can be found 
