In what is, according to news reports (here), the largest settlement to date in a shareholders’ derivative lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court, four former AIG executives and former AIG managing general agent C.V. Starr today reached a $115 million settlement in the 2002 AIG derivative lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by the
Each fall for the last two years, I have taken a look at the current trends and hot topics in the world of D&O. There are of course certain perennial topics that are always critical, but this overview is intended to focus on the issues the most significant current interest for D&O insurance professionals and
Observers outside the D&O insurance industry frequently comment to me that with all the subprime-related litigation, D&O pricing must be skyrocketing. These observers are often puzzled when I respond that the D&O marketplace remains generally competitive and pricing advantageous to buyers. This same conversation recurs with sufficient frequency that if may be worth exploring in
It remains to be seen whether the current economic turmoil will result in significant additional bank failures. But if history is any guide, to the extent that there are further bank failures, there likely will also be follow-on lawsuits in which the regulators pursue claims against the failed institutions’ former directors and officers. As these
The recent news (here) that federal regulators had seized IndyMac Bank in one of the largest bank failures in history brought back memories from the late 80’s and early 90’s, when numerous financial institutions around the country met a similar fate. The litigation surrounding the financial institutions’ collapse kept legions of lawyers profitably
On June 26, 2008, Judge Gerard Lynch of the Southern District of New York issued another opinion (here) in the D&O insurance coverage litigation arising out of the Refco debacle (My recent post discussing Judge Lynch’s prior opinion in the case discussing insurance application issues can be found here.)
In yet another
In a development that is in my experience absolutely unprecedented, Phillip Bennett, the former CEO of defunct futures trader Refco, after having pled guilty to criminal charges, is actively cooperating with the lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the civil securities lawsuit pending against the company and its former directors and officers. As discussed below
Company managers are increasingly sophisticated about D&O liability insurance. Largely as a result of the corporate scandals from earlier in this decade, what used to be a peripheral and disfavored topic is now a top agenda item in many C-suites and boardrooms. But even as company officials have developed a deeper appreciation for the importance
Over the past several weeks, several industry observers and analysts have tried to put a number on the insurance industry’s aggregate subprime-related loss exposure. At one end, Bear Stearns on January 24, 2008 estimated the industry’s exposure at $8-9 billion (refer here). By contrast, on February 8, 2008, Lehman Brothers estimated (here)
In an earlier post (here), I discussed the March 14 , 2007 ruling (here) in the CNL Resorts case, in which the federal district court held that an issuing company’s settlement of a claim under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 did not constitute covered "loss" under the company’s