I am pleased to publish below a guest post written by Paul A. Ferrillo of the Weil Gotshal and Manges law firm. Paul’s guest post identifies the liability exposures that IPO companies and their directors and officers face, and describes the insurance considerations the companies should address in confronting those exposures. Paul’s article was first printed
ABA Business Law Section’s Corporate Counsel Checklist for Executive Protection
In the August 2012 issue of Business Law Today, the ABA Business Law Section published an article entitled “Training for Tomorrow: Corporate Counsel Checklist for Supervising Creation/Renewal of D&O Protection Program” (here). The article describes the critical components of a comprehensive executive protection program. A detailed description of the article and an
Delaware Supreme Court: Insured’s Payment of Defense Expenses Does Not Trigger Excess Insurer’s Payment Obligations
On September 7, 2012, the Delaware Supreme Court, applying California law, held that Intel’s excess insurer’s defense obligations were not triggered where Intel had settled with the underlying insurer for less than policy limits and had itself funded the defense fees above the settlement amount and below the underlying insurer’s policy limit. A copy of
Guest Post: More About the Duty to Advance and the Duty to Defend
In an August 27, 2012 post (here), I discussed Central District of California Judge James Selna’s August 21, 2012 decision in Petersen v. Columbia Casualty, and in particular Judge Selna’s consideration of the insurer defendant’s duty to advance under its liability policy. Following my publication of the post, I was contacted by Jeffrey
Guest Post: Cyber Security and Data Breaches — Why Directors and Officers Should Be Concerned
I am pleased to publish below an article by my good friend Richard J. Bortnick (pictured left) concerning the directors’ and officers’ liability issues related to cyber security and data breaches. Rick is a Member of the Cozen O’Connor law firm and he is also the co-author of the CyberInquirer blog. This article first appeared
Justice Kagan at the University of Michigan Law School
On Friday September 7, 2012, the University of Michigan Law School dedicated its new South Building, an impressive new facility that beautifully complements the school’s venerable Law Quadrangle (see picture below). U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan delivered the keynote address at the dedication ceremony. (I attended the event because it coincided with my 30
Second Circuit Hands Subprime Mortgage-Backed Securities Plaintiffs Substantial Standing Victory
Many of the toxic mortgage-backed securities that were a key part of the subprime mortgage meltdown were sold in multiple separate offerings based on the same shelf registration statement but separate prospectuses. Each separate offering included multiple securities at varying tranches of seniority and subordination. In the litigation following the subprime meltdown, defendants in suits
What to Watch Now in the World of D&O
Every fall since I first started writing this blog, I have assembled a list of the current hot topics in the world of directors’ and officers’ liability. This year’s list is set out below. As should be obvious, there is a lot going on right now in the world of D&O, with further changes just
While You Were Out
Labor Day has come and gone. The kids are back in school. The air is cooler and the nights are longer. There’s a definite autumnal feeling in the air. It is time to get back to work. Fortunately, The D&O Diary kept its eye on things over the summer. So if you are feeling the
Citigroup Settles Subprime Securities Suit for $590 Million
The parties to the Citigroup subprime-related securities class action lawsuit – one of the highest profile of the remaining subprime cases – have agreed to settle the suit for $590 million, in what is the third largest settlement so far out of the subprime and credit crisis litigation wave. Southern District of New York Judge