The LA CAPITALE Ruling has been expected since 2009, when the Superior Court authorized a Class Action against an insureer who had unilateraly modified the Waiver of Premiums Clause in a group insurance contract in 2001 ...
The Securities Act [SA] allows the Autorité des marchés financiers [the “AMF”] to order investigations to ensure compliance with the SA and to repress contraventions which may be committed1. This is the context in which the Court of Appeal handed down a decision2 on June 22, 2012 going to the very heart of the role played by the AMF’s investigators and the scope of their powers during examinations conducted in connection with an investigation ...
CLS Bank and Bancorp: Back to Back Federal Circuit Decisions Offer Different Conclusions on Patentability 08/03/2012 Richard D. Rochford, Casey H. Kempner The issue of whether particular inventions include “patent eligible” subject matter under § 101 of the patent statute has become highly controversial in recent years, raising questions with high economic stakes and profound legal and philosophical implications. Twice the Supreme Court has entered the fray, first in Bilski v ...
On August 2, 2012, the Court of Appeal rendered a major decision on professional liability insurance1. As a result of this ruling, insureds and insurers alike should review the wording of such policies, especially gross fault exclusions and the definition of "professional activities". The ruling is also noteworthy for its treatment of apportionment of liability between the professional and the client ...
Parallel debt is a legal concept applied in international financing transactions that involve multiple lenders. In order to simplify the administration of security (for example, to avoid the need for retaking or reregistering security for a fluctuating group of lenders) and to reduce costs, the banks select a single entity from among them to administer the security ...
Managing General Agent (“MGA”) Agreements are unique and can be exceedingly complex. They often include detailed underwriting guidelines and strict limits on an MGA’s authority. After all, an MGA is authorized to bind an insurer on substantial risks often with little direct supervision by the insurer. While no two MGA Agreements are the same, all must incorporate certain required provisions. The NAIC has promulgated the Managing General Agents’ Act (NAIC Model No ...
Introduction Title and date of national law The Act on the protection of privacy in relation to the processing of personal data of December 8,1992 (the 'Data Protection Act' or 'DPA') and its Royal Decree of February 13, 2001. Relation with international instruments The DPA implements EU Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals regarding the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data ...
Insurance allows someone who suffers a loss or accident to be compensated for the effects of their misfortune. It lets you protect yourself against everyday risks to your health, home, business and financial situation. Concepts of insurance have been extended beyond the coverage of tangible assets. Now the risk of losses due to sudden changes in currency exchange rates, political disturbance, negligence and liability for the damages can also be covered ...
Few may rebate that internet, is majorly responsible for most of the mayor changes in the past fifteen years in fields such as science, communications, technology, commerce amongst other being necessary to adapt the legal system regulating it. Honduras has not been the exception in this modernization process regardless of the civil code nature of its legal system which is not as adaptable as common law systems are ...
Following the important judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal on August 2, 20121, the Court has ruled once again, on September 27, 20122, on the exclusions for gross fault with respect to professional liability insurance. In addition, the decision confirmed, as provided in the Civil Code, that an intentional fault is never covered. THE FACTS After their mother’s death, Pierre Audet and Marie Audet ("the Audet") hired Jacques-André Thibault ("Thibault") to manage their assets ...
Following the important judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal on August 2, 20121, the Court has ruled once again, on September 27, 20122, on the exclusions for gross fault with respect to professional liability insurance. In addition, the decision confirmed, as provided in the Civil Code, that an intentional fault is never covered ...
Insurers are well aware of the typical bad faith scenario in third-party claims. Counsel for a claimant sends a demand for policy limits to the insurer in the hope that the insurer does not accept within a time limit specified in the demand ...
On October 30, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that an opt-out confirmation text sent by Citibank (South Dakota), N.A. (“Citibank”) did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Under a “common sense” interpretation, the court determined that Citibank’s opt-out text does not demonstrate the type of invasion of privacy the TCPA seeks to prevent ...
On November 10, 2012, the German working group on technical and organizational data protection matters published guidelines (in German) on the technical and organizational separation requirements for automated data processing on shared IT systems (the “Guidelines”). The working group is part of the Conference of the German Data Protection Commissioners, which recently concluded its 84th Conference in Frankfurt (Oder) ...
We are all too familiar with stories of contaminated food and drugs that sicken and even kill consumers. Given the increasing number of product recalls and their enormous financial impact, it is not surprising the demand for recall insurance has increased exponentially in the middle market. Why has the number of recalls increased so dramatically? The answer is twofold ...
What's all this about penguins, pandas and search engine optimisation? Optimising websites to rank highly in Google search results is a lucrative industry. For years, businesses have employed search engine optimisation (SEO) providers to boost rankings ...
With the continued development of the Marcellus and Utica Shale, businesses in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio are experiencing rapid growth and facing many issues related to this growth they had not previously experienced. One important consideration is whether and how to insure these growing assets. While myriad issues may arise regarding insurance, this article will address some general types of insurance coverage growing businesses should consider ...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in VAM Check Cashing Corp. v. Federal Insurance Company, No. 11-2644-cv, (2d Cir. Nov. 7, 2012), found the "overt felonious act" requirement in a crime insurance policy to be ambiguous. The court held, therefore, that the insured would be entitled to coverage for a theft at the insured’s store, even though it occurred as a result of a covert scheme to defraud ...
According to a recent article by Shoosmiths, the cloud software market generated $22 billion in revenue in 2011, and expects growth to $67.3 billion by 2016 Alongside the benefit of cloud computing, however, lies a lack of transparency for cloud customers, causing legitimate concerns about how they can comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) ...
On November 16, 2012, European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx published an Opinion on the European Commission’s Communication on cloud computing (part of the Commission’s broader cloud computing strategy) ...
The access to records clause, sometimes called the inspection or audit clause, is a common fixture in reinsurance agreements and serves an important function. It enables the reinsurer to track the performance of the agreement and maintain an accurate view of the business ceded. More specifically, it allows the reinsurer to ensure the cedent is complying with the terms and conditions of the agreement, including timely reporting of losses and calculation of premiums ...
Sometimes, litigants are forced to reevaluate their strategy mid-course. Occasionally, a plaintiff in a pending trademark infringement action faces a cancellation counterclaim that poses a real threat to the plaintiff’s trademark. In that situation, to avoid the risk of cancellation or a declaration of invalidity, the plaintiff may want to voluntarily dismiss its claim and grant a covenant not to sue to the alleged infringer ...
The Government finally issued Government Regulation No. 82 of 2012 9regarding the Implementation of Electronic Systems and Electronic Transactions (“Regulation 82”) for Law No. 11 of 2008 regarding Electronic Information and Electronic Transactions (“Law No.11”). Regulation 82 sets out significant requirements in relation to electronic registration/certification, electronic systems, electronic transactions, electronics agents, electronic signatures and domain names ...
On Tuesday, February 19, 2013, information security firm Mandiant issued a report documenting computer security breaches at hundreds of organizations, allegedly resulting from a cyber-espionage campaign undertaken by elements of the Chinese government. The Mandiant report is only the latest in a series of much-publicized incidents of “hacking” performed by what is believed to be a variety of public and private actors ...
