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Valuing Plaintiff's Recoverable Damages
When an insurer partially compensates its policyholder for a loss caused by a responsible party, it may assert a subrogation claim against the responsible party to recover the amount of the insurance benefits paid. The responsible party then is faced with two actions against it: a tort action and a subrogation action by the plaintiff's insurer. The party may find it in its interests to settle the subrogation action before or during the pendency of the tort action. If the defendant's settlement reimburses the insurer for all the benefits paid to the plaintiff (its policyholder), then any damages award will be reduced to account for the benefits paid.
But what happens when the responsible party settles the subrogation claim for less than the amount of benefits paid by the insurer? Can the party then offset a damages award by the full amount of the subrogation claim, and in so doing, potentially pay less than the full amount of the damages it caused? Only a few courts around the country have addressed this question, and they are split on the issue. This article examines the most recent decision, a particularly lucid, albeit unpublished, decision by the California Court of Appeal in De Anza Interiors, et al. v. Hsu, et al., 2011 WL 6402146, No. CV-08-2550 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2011), which answers the question in the affirmative.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
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.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.