In the current litigation environment, employers face an ongoing threat of claims brought by employees alleging violations of wage and hour laws, often filed as class actions. These kinds of lawsuits can be expensive to defend and to resolve. In general, management liability insurers try to avoid providing coverage for these kinds of claims, except for very limited amounts of defense cost coverage. A recent district court decision holding that the management liability insurance policy of the women’s clothing retailer Talbots did not cover a wage and hour class action lawsuit pending against the company illustrates the barriers policyholders face in attempting to secure coverage for these kinds of claims. Both the policy language at issue and the outcome of the Talbots insurance coverage dispute arguably are unremarkable. However, the outcome does raise questions about whether there might be ways for policyholders at least to obtain effective defense cost coverage for these kinds of claims. Continue Reading Thinking About Wage and Hour Claims and Management Liability Insurance

The SEC’s disclosure that its EDGAR system had been had hacked was big news last week, as was the accompanying disclosure that the information accessed may have been used for improper trading. In the following guest post, John Reed Stark takes a look at the interesting and important legal issues that might arise if the authorities were to try to pursue claims against persons trying to trade on the information stolen from the SEC.  John is President of John Reed Stark Consulting and former Chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement. I would like to thank John for his willingness to allow me to publish his 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 John’s guest post. Continue Reading Guest Post: Think the SEC EDGAR Data Breach Involved Insider Trading? Think Again.

For almost the entire time that there have even been federal securities laws, the U.S. Supreme Court only rarely and infrequently agreed to take up cases arising securities cases. Until recently, years would pass between the times that securities cases appeared on the Supreme Court’s docket. For some reason, beginning around the middle of the last decade, the Court has become increasingly willing to take up securities cases. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017-2018 term, which commences on Monday, is no exception to this recent trend. There are three important securities cases on the Court’s docket for the upcoming term, and these cases could have, both individually and collectively, a significant impact on many securities law cases and on securities litigation in general. Continue Reading Three Key Securities Law Cases on Supreme Court’s Docket as Term Begins

Fenway Park

The D&O Diary was on assignment in Boston last week, to attend and participate in the PLUS Boston Chapter event and to participate in some other meetings as well – including a memorable event at Fenway Park (pictured left). I was fortunate to enjoy some beautiful weather while I was in Beantown. I realized shortly after my arrival that it has been a while since I have been to Boston. It is remarkable what has happened to the city in the interim – it really has been transformed. Continue Reading Bulletin from Boston

There has been a steady drumbeat of news about high profile data breaches in the past several days, including the news about the Equifax data breach and the disclosure of the breach at the SEC. In the following guest post, John Reed Stark takes a look at these data breaches and their implications. John is President of John Reed Stark Consulting and former Chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement. I would like to thank John for his willingness to allow me to publish his 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 John’s guest post. Continue Reading Guest Post: The Equifax and SEC Data Breaches: Takeaways, Reminders & Caveats

The difficulty with pure “claims made and reported” coverage – where the claim must both be made and reported during the policy period in order for coverage to be triggered – is that it can lead to harsh outcomes, as I have noted in prior posts. A recent unpublished Ninth Circuit decision, in which the court held that coverage was precluded for a claim made in one policy period but reported in a subsequent renewal period, provides yet another example of the kinds of harsh coverage outcomes that can sometimes under these kinds of policies. The Ninth Circuit’s August 22, 2017 opinion can be found here. The Wiley Rein law firm’s September 25 2017 Executive Summary Blog post about the decision can be found here. Continue Reading More About the Problems with Pure Claims Made and Reported Policies

The news late last week that London’s transport authority had stripped ride-hailing firm Uber of its ride-hire license on the grounds that it was “unfit to operate” in the U.K. capital was merely the latest blow to the company, following a string of scandals, probes, and damaging revelations. Now the company – which, despite its enormous size, is still a privately held firm — has been hit with a federal court securities class action lawsuit, the most recent instance where one of the high-flying “unicorn” companies has been hit with a securities fraud lawsuit after a decline in fortune. The new lawsuit has a number of interesting features, discussed below. Continue Reading Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit

In an insurance coverage dispute arising out of the high-profile and long-running SEC investigation of and enforcement action against the investment firm Patriarch Partners and its CEO Lynn Tilton, a federal district court judge has ruled that coverage under Patriarch’s excess D&O insurance policy is precluded under the policy’s “Pending and Prior Claim” exclusion, because the investigation pending at the time the excess policy incepted represented a “Claim” under the relevant policy language. The court’s analysis includes an interesting discussion of the interaction between the SEC’s investigative actions and the applicable definition of the term “Claim.” The court’s analysis also involves a consideration of the implications for coverage purposes of the various stages within the SEC’s investigative processes. Southern District of New York Judge Valerie Caproni’s September 22, 2017 opinion can be found here. Continue Reading Ongoing SEC Investigation is a “Claim” Sufficient to Trigger Prior Claim Exclusion

An acquired bank’s D&O insurer’s defense cost obligation to the bank’s directors and officers in connection with merger-related litigation continued after the merger transaction closed and was owed to the acquiring bank, a federal district court judge has held, rejecting the policy-based arguments on which the insurer relied to contend that its payment obligations ceased at the time of the deal closing. District of New Jersey Judge John Michael Vazquez’s unpublished September 18, 2017 opinion containing his ruling can be found here. Continue Reading D&O Insurer Must Continue Defense Expense Reimbursement Post-Merger

Rhonda Prussack

The last couple of years have seen a wave of ERISA suits aimed at 401(k) plan sponsors and targeting plan fees. In the following guest post, Rhonda Prussack, Head of Fiduciary and Employment Practices Liability at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, takes a look at this phenomenon and the factors behind it, as well as the fiduciary liability insurers’ reaction to these developments. I would like to thank Rhonda for allowing me to publish her 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 Rhonda’s guest post. Continue Reading Guest Post: Surge in ERISA Fee Litigation