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U.S. District Court Finds Coverage Survives Procedural Changes of Bankruptcy
A bankrupt insured, particularly one with significant mass tort liability and assets primarily restricted to its insurance policies, should pay close attention to coverage issues during the bankruptcy proceedings to minimize subsequent difficulties in securing insurance recovery. Bankruptcy proceedings may complicate a bankrupt insured's access to its third-party liability insurance coverage, but, properly executed, the proceedings can be structured to safeguard access to coverage
For example, a 2009 decision, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland brought some clarity to the coverage-neutral aspects of bankruptcy by addressing efforts by a liability carrier to justify its denial of coverage upon the procedural changes wrought by bankruptcy. See Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Porter Hayden Co., 408 B.R. 66, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61992 (D. Md. July 7, 2009). The insured, the Porter Hayden Company, had sold and installed asbestos-containing insulation products for decades and, more recently, had emerged from bankruptcy proceedings with an injunction that channeled all asbestos claims to a trust for possible resolution with Porter Hayden's pre-discharge assets. The District Court rejected the argument by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and American Home Assurance Company (collectively “National Union”) that somewhere between the injunction and the creation of the trust, National Union's obligation to provide coverage for the third-party claims against Porter Hayden had evaporated.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?