Directors & Officers News

Coalition Enters Executive Risk Insurance Market for Small Business

Coalition has launched new executive risks insurance products for small and midsize businesses. The directors and officers (D&O) and employment practices liability (EPL) coverages are underwritten by Zurich North America. Coalition says its broker platform integrates real-time financial, regulatory, and …

Judge Says Wells Fargo Must Face Shareholder Fraud Claims

A federal judge on Thursday rejected Wells Fargo & Co’.s bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it defrauded shareholders about its ability to rebound from five years of scandals over its treatment of customers. The fourth-largest U.S. bank has operated …

Liability for SPAC Flops: Waitr Could Be Test Case for Disgruntled Investor Lawsuits

Waitr Inc. never had the resources of rivals Grubhub Inc. and UberEats. Yet in November 2018 the online food ordering and delivery business went public through a merger with blank-check firm Landcadia Holdings Inc. Landcadia had some powerful names behind …

Insurers Overwhelmed by Demand for D&O Coverage for Blank Check Companies

The SPAC boom is overwhelming a key player in the creation of a blank-check companies: insurers. Firms selling directors-and-officers liability policies for special purpose acquisition companies have been flooded by the listings that surged last year. That’s caused insurers to …

Investor Sues Drugmaker Astrazeneca Over Coronavirus Vaccine Testing Claims

AstraZeneca PLC was sued by a pension fund on behalf of investors who it says suffered losses because of flaws in the company’s testing of its coronavirus vaccine. For much of last year, the Cambridge, England-based pharmaceutical company was touting …

Oklahoma Lobbyists to Pay $115K in Ethics Settlement

Two Oklahoma lobbyists have agreed to pay $115,000 in penalties as part of a settlement announced by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The settlements by the commission were reached with lobbyists James Milner and James McSpadden, who both served as treasurers …

Feds: Firm Dumped Liquid Landfill Waste into Flint’s System; Owner Charged

A Flint business owner is accused of illegally discharging nearly 48 million gallons of waste from landfills into the city’s wastewater system from 2007-15. The waste included a chemical from a family of chemicals known to be hazardous to human …

Directors & Officers Risk Landscape Shaped by Insolvencies, COVID, Activism: Allianz

While the COVID-19 pandemic presents risks for directors and officers (D&O), it is far from the only force these insureds and their insurers will be dealing with in the year ahead. Rising insolvency exposures, growing cyber security threats and persistent …

SEC Fines Cheesecake Factory for Misleading Disclosures About COVID Financial Impact

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has settled charges against The Cheesecake Factory Inc. for misleading disclosures about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business operations and financial condition. The SEC said the action is its first …

Supreme Court Justices Tackle Company Liability for Human Rights Abuses

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared wary of barring lawsuits against American companies over alleged human rights abuses abroad but signaled they could toss out a case accusing Cargill Inc. and a Nestle SA subsidiary of knowingly helping to …