Several insurers in liquidation proceedings have upcoming claims bar dates:

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has held that an E&O policy issued to a now-bankrupt credit counseling company did not cover claims arising under unfair trade practices statutes, but did cover claims arising under fair debt collection statutes. Hrobuchak v. Fed. Ins. Co., 2013 WL 2291875 (M.D. Pa. May 24, 2013). The court also held that carve-outs from the policy’s definition of loss did not preclude coverage for statutory damages or damages representing the return of fees paid to the insured.

• Foreclosure: an attorney may file a nonresident cost bond on behalf of a client without violating the prohibition against an attorney's acting as a surety for his client – US Bank, N.A. v. Boyer, No. 2D12-3942 (Fla.

In re ESA Environmental Specialists, Inc., 2013 WL 765705 (4th Cir., Mar. 1, 2013)

CASE SNAPSHOT

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has held that an E&O policy issued to a now-bankrupt credit counseling company did not cover claims arising under unfair trade practices statutes, but did cover claims arising under fair debt collection statutes. Hrobuchak v. Fed. Ins. Co., 2013 WL 2291875 (M.D. Pa. May 24, 2013). The court also held that carve-outs from the policy’s definition of loss did not preclude coverage for statutory damages or damages representing the return of fees paid to the insured.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi denied the motion of defendant ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation (ACA) to dismiss a class action complaint, finding that the issues were previously adjudicated adversely to ACA in the New York Supreme Court where a companion case, Oppenheimer v. ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation, is currently pending.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, applying Georgia law, has held that a default judgment against an insured in a rescission action precluded any subsequent recovery under the policy by a judgment creditor of the insured. Old Republic Nat’l Title Ins. Co. v. Hartford Accident & Indem. Co., 2013 WL 1943427 (N.D. Ga. May 9, 2013).

The NAIC’s Federal Home Loan Bank Legislation (E) Subgroup (the “FHLB Subgroup”) is considering, among other things, proposed amendments to the Insurer Receivership Model Act (“IRMA”) to provide certain exemptions for security agreements between insurance companies and Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLBs”).

As electronic discovery has become more prevalent and voluminous, national standards for the preservation of evidence have evolved dramatically in the past decade. Through a proliferation of electronic discovery orders involving discovery compliance, courts have addressed when the duty to preserve evidence arises, signifying a party’s duty to issue a “litigation hold.” Courts have not answered, however, whether a party can withhold documents generated before issuing a litigation hold on the basis of work product protection.

In Wallis v. Centennial Insurance Co., No. 08-cv-2558 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 1, 2013), Magistrate Judge Allison Claire of the Eastern District of California held that the New York Superintendent of Insurance had the authority to assert the attorney-client privilege on behalf of an insurer that was in the process of being liquidated by the Superintendent.