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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

The Trump Administration’s tariff policies have unquestionably had an impact on the global economy, as well as on the operations and financial performance of at least some individual companies. However, the overall impact has turned out to be less than economists and other observers feared at the time of President Trump’s “liberation day” announcement earlier this year. As discussed below, a number of factors have contributed to the tariffs’ muted impact. However, there are reasons to be concerned that the full effect of the tariffs is yet to kick in so far but may be felt in 2026, with potential consquences for D&O insurance underwriters. Continue Reading Big AI Investments Have Muted the Tariff Impact. But Will it Continue?

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

 Among the many concerns arising from the increasing prevalence of cryptocurrency are the problems and risks associated with the fact that the liquidity and value of cryptocurrencies fluctuate over time. To illustrate the kinds of liability risks this fluctuation can lead to, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, reviews a recent set of circumstances in which Stoli Group USA, LLC sought to settle a secured debt liability by payment of another kind of alternative asset with fluctuating valuation – in this case, 35,000 barrels of unfinished bourbon. Sarah considers the potential implications from the Stoli case for companies with crypto treasury assets. 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: Shot of Crypto

Sarah Abrams

In recent weeks, the business pages have been full of stories concerning the genomic testing company 23andMe, in particular with respect to privacy issues and the company’s bankruptcy. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, considers potential D&O liability issues that recent developments involving the company could raise. 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: 23andMe and D&O Liability

Francis Kean

One of the perennial questions for D&O insurance buyers and their advisors is: What is the right amount of insurance to buy? In the following guest post, Francis Kean, Partner in the Financial Lines Team at McGill and Partners, takes a look at a recent court judgment in which the court raised serious questions about a company’s limits selection and proposes five lessons that may be drawn from the case. I would like to thank Francis for allowing me to publish his 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 Francis’s article. Continue Reading Guest Post: Are Companies Buying Enough Directors & Officers Insurance?

A D&O insurance policy provides its most important protection in the bankruptcy context, when the company is unable to indemnify its executives for claims arising out of their service as directors or officers. But because of the competing interests in bankruptcy – including the interests of the bankruptcy estate itself – bankruptcy can also be a complicated insurance coverage context. A Fourth Circuit decision, in which it held that two bankruptcy trustees lacked standing to sue a bankrupt company’s D&O insurer in a declaratory judgment action, highlights important principles governing D&O insurance in the bankruptcy context.Continue Reading 4th Circ.: Bankruptcy Trustees Lack Standing to Sue D&O Insurer

Standard D&O insurance policies typically include an exclusion precluding coverage for claims brought by one insured against another insured. This exclusion also typically has a carve-back to the exclusion preserving coverage claims brought by bankruptcy officials, such as a trustee or received. One recurring question is whether or not a claim brought against an insured person by the company acting as debtor-in-possession is precluded by the exclusion, or whether the bankruptcy carve-back preserves coverage for the claim.

In an interesting October 3, 2024, decision, a bankruptcy court judge presiding over the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Walker County Hospital Corporation, and applying Texas law, held that a claim by the Hospital acting as debtor-in-possession against the Hospital’s former CEO fell within the bankruptcy carve-back, and therefore that the insured vs. insured exclusion did not preclude coverage. The court’s analysis of this recurring question is interesting, as discussed below. A copy of the bankruptcy court’s October 3, 2024, opinion can be found here.Continue Reading Insured vs. Insured Exclusion Does Not Bar Coverage for Debtor-in-Possession’s Suit Against Former CEO

Sometimes seemingly subtle policy wording differences can significantly affect the court’s analysis of key policy clauses. The significance of the wording subtleties sometimes is best seen by comparing the wording to equivalent provisions in different policies. That was the case in recent proceedings in which an excess insurer sought to compel arbitration of an underlying coverage dispute. As discussed below, the court found that the language of the specific arbitration provision in dispute did not apply either to the parties or the dispute involved in the underlying coverage lawsuit. The ruling, in which the court applied New York law, can be found here.Continue Reading Insurer Cannot Compel Arbitration in Reliance on Narrow Arb Clause Wording

Yelena Dunaevsky
Teresa Milano

As readers of this blog well know, SPAC transactions have been a frequent target of corporate and securities lawsuits. In the following guest post, Yelena Dunaevsky, Esq., Senior Vice President at Woodruff Sawyer, Executive Editor, SPAC Notebook and Teresa Milano, Esq., Vice President at Woodruff Sawyer, take a detailed look at the SPAC litigation and enforcement activity so far, including some interesting observations about recent trends. A version of this article was previously published on the SPAC Notebook (here). I would like to thank Yelena and Teresa for allowing me to publish their 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 the authors’ article.Continue Reading Guest Post: SPACs Poised to Turn a Corner in 2024: Annual Risk Update