Carlton Fields

In Alabama Municipal Insurance Corp. v. Munich Reinsurance America Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama addressed whether, under Alabama law, “reinsurance falls within the limited category of insurance agreements to which the tort of bad faith applies.” The case involved claims brought by plaintiff Alabama Municipal Insurance Corp. (AMIC), a nonprofit joint insurance company owned by several municipalities, against its reinsurer Munich Reinsurance America Inc. AMIC obtained contracts for reinsurance from Munich under which Munich covered and would be responsible for paying a portion of claims received by AMIC that exceeded a base amount noted in the reinsurance contracts. AMIC alleged that Munich wrongfully declined reinsurance coverage for the full amount due under five separate insurance claims submitted to AMIC, and Munich underpaid the claims by approximately $1.9 million.

Writs are formal written commands developed in English common law more than a thousand years ago. Despite the antiquated Latin terminology, when properly understood writs provide a critical avenue for immediate and expeditious review of matters that cannot await plenary appeal. Extraordinary writs are not uncommon in most jurisdictions, though their specific functions are often misunderstood. Among the most commonly misconstrued writs are mandamus and quo warranto.

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), at its board meeting on November 8, 2024, voted 4–1 to advance proposed regulations to a formal...

U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - Joseph v. Ga Bd of Regents - Title IX, implied right of action, sex discrimination - ...

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not provide an implied...

Under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, in most federal civil actions, a notice of appeal must be filed with the district court clerk within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order being appealed, as required by Rule 4(a)(1). There is a caveat, however: where a party timely files a motion seeking reconsideration such as a motion to alter or amend the judgment under Rule 59, a motion for new trial under Rule 59, or a motion for relief under Rule 60, the 30-day deadline for filing a notice of appeal will be tolled so that it runs from the entry of the order disposing of the last of these motions, as provided in Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(4). But to have this tolling effect, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(d) and (e) requires that the motion for reconsideration be filed within 28 days of the judgment or order.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to invalidate an arbitration award in a breach of contract case involving patent royalties based...

U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - Baxter v. Hendren - appellate jurisdiction, not pursuing claim, § 1983, excessive force,...

On November 15, 2024, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Department of Labor’s 2024 regulations for executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees, which raised the minimum salary employers would be required to pay EAP employees to maintain their overtime exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. [1]

The Secure Act, passed in 2019 and updated in 2022, made significant changes to the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules applicable to qualified retirement plans, IRAs, 403(b) plans, and other eligible deferred compensation plans. In addition to increasing the age for RMD-required beginning dates, the Secure Act required the full distribution of the account balances from these plans within 10 years of an account holder’s death for most non-spouse designated beneficiaries, regardless of whether distributions had begun. Prior to the final regulation, there was confusion as to whether a designated beneficiary of an inherited account had to take RMDs during the 10-year period or whether he or she could wait to receive the entire account balance at the end of the 10-year period. The final regulations, which became effective on September 17, 2024, provide clarity.