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Kevin LaCroix

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Kevin M. LaCroix is an attorney and Executive Vice President, RT ProExec, a division of RT Specialty. RT ProExec is an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on management liability issues.

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Recent securities class action lawsuit filing analyses have noted (as discussed, for example here), that the number of COVID-related securities suit filings has declined so far this year relative to last year. Arguably the more interesting observation is that these lawsuits are being filed at all in 2025, now well over five years since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States. In the latest example of the continued filing of these kinds of suits, late last week, a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities class action lawsuit against Lineage, a cold storage focused real estate investment trust (REIT). The complaint alleges that in the run-up to the company’s July 2024 IPO, the company soft-pedaled the impact of the downturn of pandemic-driven demand. The new complaint against Lineage can be found here.

Continue Reading REIT Hit With COVID-Related Securities Suit

One issue courts often confront is the question of what they may properly consider in determining whether or not an insurer has a duty to defend an insured in a given set of circumstances. In many jurisdictions, the courts may consider only the underlying complaint and the terms and conditions of the policy, and nothing else. In a recent decision, an Illinois intermediate appellate court, applying Illinois law, held that the trial court properly considered extrinsic matter – in this case, the insured’s description of events in his notice of claim to the insurer—in holding that the policy’s Cyber Events exclusion precluded coverage, even though the underlying complaint did not refer to the cybersecurity incident. The court’s decision raises some interesting questions, as discussed below.

Continue Reading May a Court Consider Extrinsic Matter in Determining an Insurer’s Duty to Defend?

The number of securities class action lawsuits filed in the first six months of 2025 was roughly level with the number of securities suits filed in the second half of 2024, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research. The number of suits filed in the first half of 2025 is also roughly level with the historical semiannual average number of filings. The July 30, 2025, report, which Cornerstone Research produced in conjunction with the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, is entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2025 Midyear Assessment,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s July 30, 2025, press release regarding the report can be found here.

Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Securities Suit Filings Steady in Year’s First Half
Sarah Abrams

In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the D&O underwriting issues associated with Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), in the context of a pending securities class action lawsuit involving a cannabis-focused REIT. 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: High on REITs

One of the signature features of the Dodd-Frank Act was its creation of the SEC whistleblower program, which includes the possibility for whistleblowers to receive generous bounties. The program has grown substantially since its inception. However, there are signs that the program may be undergoing a significant change in direction, as the SEC is “denying a record percentage of whistleblower claims,” according to a July 22, 2025, Bloomberg article, here. According to the article, the recent number of denials suggests that “the agency is enforcing rules and scrutinizing claims more strictly than in past years.”

Continue Reading SEC Rejects Record Percentage of Whistleblower Award Claims
Sarah Abrams

In the latest development in the long and continuing saga about college athletes’ compensation, on July 25, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order attempting to address many of the relevant issues. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the Executive Order and puts it in the context of the other pending initiatives and related developments. 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: Saving College Sports or Burning Down the House?

Rising geopolitical tensions are having an impact across a wide variety of issues, including, in particular, issues having to do with the cross-border movement of people. These issues include changes within respect to immigration and visa policies. These changes not only affect the individuals involved but also companies whose business operations are connected in some way to immigration and visa issues. A recently filed securities lawsuit against a company whose money transfer business is directly linked to the cross-border movement of students for education and study shows not only how changing visa policies, for example, can not only affect companies’ operations and financial results but can also translate into securities litigation.

Continue Reading Geopolitical Developments, Visa Policies, and D&O Risk

D&O insurance claims can sometimes lead to intricate coverage disputes, often involving disagreements over the meaning of technical policy terms and provisions. A recent Delaware Supreme Court opinion illustrates the kinds of disputes that can arise. Among other things, the coverage issues the court considered involved disagreements over the meaning and application of the No Action Clause. The result of the court’s opinion is that there will be further proceedings in the court below on the No Action Clause issue. Among other things, the Court’s consideration of the extent to which a policyholder may bring an action against the insurer before the resolution of the underlying claim raises interesting and important issues.  A copy of the Delaware Supreme Court’s July 23, 2025, opinion can be found here.

Continue Reading Does the No Action Clause Bar a Policyholder’s Suit for Current Defense Costs?
Sarah Abrams

As illustrated by the lawsuit Donald Trump recently filed against the Wall Street Journal’s parent company Dow Jones and its owner Rupert Murdoch, defamation lawsuits are all the rage these days. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the recent proliferation of defamation lawsuits and considers the D&O insurance ramifications. 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: What Did You Say?

In prior posts (most recently here), I have noted the risk to companies in the current global trade environment of governmental enforcement actions relating to the collection and payment of tariffs. Indeed, in a May 12, 2025, memo, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti identified “trade and customs fraud, including tariff evasion” as the Department of Justice’s number two corporate criminal enforcement priority.

In the latest sign that the Trump administration is ready to aggressively deploy its enforcement tools to ensure compliance with tariffs and other trade goals, the U.S. government has filed a complaint in intervention in a pending qui tam action against a South Carolina furniture company, alleging that the company used false documentation to underreport the price of furniture the company imported from China, resulting in tariff underpayment. The new case underscores the fact that as the current Trump rolls out and enforces its sweeping tariff program, companies will face significant scrutiny and potential claims risk.

Continue Reading Trump Administration Brings Tariff Evasion Claim