Austria has approximately 140 insurance companies (including 52 Austrian insurance companies, 59 Austrian small mutual associations, and 25 branches of EU/EEA-insurers). The Austrian Financial Market Authority (Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehörde – "FMA"), which supervises the sector, provides a list of insurance undertakings containing all insurance companies authorized to conduct insurance business in Austria plus all insurance classes that the respective companies hold a licence for ...
On August 16, 2007, the Court of Appeal issued a judgment, written by Mr. Justice Paul-André Gendreau, pertaining to the absence of an initial disclosure of risk to the new insurer in the context of the transfer of an insurance portfolio by a broker.(1) An insurer who accepts the transfer of a policy without ascertaining its current exposure to risk, is deemed to have waived his right to this information ...
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that a primary insurer has no actionable right of contribution or subrogation against a co-primary insurer that declined to settle on terms agreed to by the first primary carrier. Mid-Continent Insurance Company v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, No. 05-0261 (Tex. October 12, 2007) ...
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana held that "actions of civil authority" that do not prohibit access to an insured’s premises do not trigger civil authority coverage under a first-party policy. Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP v. National Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford, No. 06-770-C, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64208 (M.D.La. Aug ...
In Castillo v. State Farm Florida Insurance Co., No. 3D06-2874 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2007), the Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District, reversed a decision granting summary judgment in favor of an insurer, finding issues of fact about whether earth movement, an excluded peril under a homeowners’ insurance policy, played a part in a dwelling’s damage from nearby blasting ...
In its judgment in Bourcier v. La Citadelle(1) rendered on September 4, 2007, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the insured accident victim must inform the insurer no later than one year following the date of the accident, in accordance with Article 2435 C.C.Q. Failure to do so results in forfeiture of the right to the benefit provided for in the accident insurance policy.The factsMs. Bourcier was the victim of a serious motorcycle accident on September 11, 2001 ...
On September 26, 2007, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of appellant Citizens for a Quality of Life(1) (“CQL”) and upheld the judgment of the Superior Court(2) dated December 14, 2004, which had refused to grant its motion for authorization to institute a class action against Aéroports de Montréal (“ADM”) on the basis of the lack of similar or related questions raised by the recourses of the class members ...
Civil Dispute Resolution in TaiwanSeptember, 2007ForewordTaiwan is a civil law jurisdiction, and its courts are charged principally with interpreting statutory laws and have limited ability to create new remedies or laws where there is no statutory basis. Civil, criminal, and administrative cases fall under the jurisdiction of separate court systems. In addition to civil litigation, civil disputes can also be handled through arbitration, mediation, or settlement ...
The highest court in Massachusetts held in Allmerica Financial Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 449 Mass. 621, 2007 Mass. LEXIS 519 (Aug. 6, 2007), that a “follow form” excess insurer is not obligated to fund a settlement negotiated by the primary insurer ...
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, applying North Carolina law, held that a liability insurer may properly withdraw from the defense of its policyholder after obtaining a judicial declaration of no coverage, despite the policyholder’s pending appeal, provided the insurer offers to continue defending if the policyholder wins a stay of the trial court’s decision. Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Potter et al ...
This paper will address the varying requirements for fair market value in transactions involving physicians and hospitals and other health care providers. The paper will first examine the Stark law and how and when transactions may satisfy Stark’s requirements for fair market value. Second, the use of fair market value for compliance with the federal Anti-Kickback statute will be addressed ...
The Federal Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Rader and joined by Judges Lourie and Prost, has determined that a termination of a contract for the government’s convenience does not terminate obligations to perform warranty and software upgrade services under the contract. The Court of Federal Claims, in a well-reasoned opinion by Judge Miller, had determined otherwise ...
The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce upholds a strong position as one of the most important centres of international arbitration. The steady growth in the number of cases involving foreign parties that are administered by the Arbitration Institute convincingly demonstrates its worldwide popularity and reputation ...
In the past few years China has introduced significant regulatory changes in an effort to modernize its pharmaceutical industry and bring it in line with international standards. These include reorganizing the former State Drug Administration into the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), thoroughly amending drug regulation and good manufacturing practice (GMP), enhancing intellectual property protection and changing drug import licensing ...
The purposes of this Health Care Alert are to: 1) summarize recently proposed federal regulations which will require physician disclosure of ownership interests in hospitals to patients; 2) remind health care providers of existing Texas laws requiring disclosure of ownership interests and 3) suggest best practices for disclosure of ownership interests ...
On Capitol Hill, U.S. lawmakers are considering legislation that would authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve generic versions of biological products. Representative Henry Waxman (D, CA), of “Hatch-Waxman” fame, has introduced the “Access to Life Saving Medicine Act” (H.R. 1038) to advance this change to U.S. law. In introducing the legislation, Rep ...
An Illinois federal district court held, in Massachusetts Bay Ins. Co. v. Faber Bros., Inc., No. 04 C 5160, 2007 WL 1029366 (N.D. Ill. March 30, 2007), that a distributor of firearms is not covered under general liability insurance contracts for claims alleging that its sales of firearms created a public nuisance that led to bodily injuries. Factual BackgroundThe insured, Faber Bros., Inc., is a distributor and wholesaler of firearms ...
Can the cost of remedying a manufacturing defect be considered as damage resulting from an “accident” covered under a liability insurance policy? This is the question the Quebec Court of Appeal considered in CGU, Compagnie d’Assurance du Canada v. Soprema Inc., [2007] QCCA 113 ...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s revised corporate charging policy, which was named after deputy attorney general Paul McNulty, was unveiled in December 2006. In the wake of its predecessor document, the 2003 Thompson Memo, we have seen a steady increase in the resolution of corporate criminal investigations without indictments or trials ...
A reputation for counterfeiting, poor quality control, ever-changing and inconsistent application of regulations and the challenges of ensuring that development does not unduly prejudice the welfare of the general population - this description of China’s pharmaceutical industry is representative of much that is good, bad and challenging in China’s recent regulatory and economic development ...
Advocate General Sharpston has recently expressed her opinion in the Commission v Republic of Finland case that ensuring a sufficient degree of transparency for the award of sub-threshold procurements should be determined by national law, rather than Community law. If these views were to be followed by the ECJ, it would provide renewed impetus to create national rules on low value awards and represent a meaningful evolution of the ECJ's past case law ...
We are pleased to advise you of recent Quebec Superior Court judgments rendered in favour of our clients. Two motions for authorization to institute a class action were recently denied by the Court, which should be a matter of interest to decision-makers and lawyers dealing with issues involving competition, environment and natural resources as well as class actions generally ...
In our July 2006 legal update, we reported on a ground-breaking agreement (Agreement) signed by the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments, under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts. Legislative changes are now underway in Hong Kong in order to implement the Agreement ...
