Articles by Andrew G. Simpson

Simpson covers the East region for the Insurance Journal, a sister publication.

Insurance Broker in Menendez Case Allegedly Got Senator’s Help With Fraud Charge

The defendants in the corruption case involving U.S. Senator Robert Menendez include a former New Jersey insurance broker who was convicted of premium fraud in 2011 and lost his insurance license. Jose Uribe allegedly got involved with Menendez in his …

Judge Orders Camden Diocese to Rework Bankruptcy Plan After Insurers’ Complaints

The Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey must rework its bankruptcy plan to better protect insurers from invalid and inflated sexual abuse claims and unreasonable attorneys’ fees. Citing some concerns raised by insurers, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerrold Poslusny Jr. declined …

Appeals Court Blasts Insurer’s Conduct in Denying Claim Over Insured’s Conduct

Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. is not entitled to the summary judgment it was granted by a federal district court in a building fire case in which it claimed the insured was not cooperative in accommodating its requests for examinations under …

Fifth Circuit Nixes Its Own ‘Flawed’ Limit on Title VII Employee Discrimination Claims

A federal appeals court has discarded its own long-time precedent and expanded the scope of discrimination claims that employees can bring against their employers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In so ruling, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals, …

Use of Shell Companies in Construction to Evade Taxes, Workers’ Comp On the Rise

The workers’ compensation industry and state and federal tax authorities are losing hundreds of millions of dollars every year from fraud schemes involving shell companies in the construction industry, federal authorities are warning. The schemes, in which the shell companies …

San Francisco Archdiocese Files for Bankruptcy Citing 500 Sex Abuse Claims

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco has filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The church said the filing is necessary to manage the more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual …

Landlord Not Liable for Murder at Nightclub, Mass. Supreme Court Says

A commercial landlord is not liable for a “targeted, execution-style shooting” that took place on her property as it was not reasonably foreseeable and no reasonable security measures could have prevented it, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. The …

New Jersey Supreme Court Backs Catholic School in Firing of Unwed, Pregnant Teacher

The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Roman Catholic school that fired a teacher who became pregnant out of wedlock. The high court found that where an employment decision is clearly based on the tenets of …

Md. Court Cites ‘Fundamental Fairness’ in Award of Insurance Payout to Mortgage Lender

The estate of a Maryland man who, along with one of his children, was killed in a fire in his home is not entitled to all of the proceeds from the fire insurance policy because the homeowner still had a …

Conn. Supreme: No Immunity for Negligent Operation of Emergency Vehicles

The Connecticut Supreme Court has overturned a trial court and ruled that municipalities and government agencies are not entitled to qualified immunity for negligent operation of emergency vehicles. In a case involving a car accident caused by a Bloomfield police …