Dates for Legal Seminar & August MPC Meeting Announced
NOLHGA has tentatively scheduled its August MPC meeting to be held in conjunction with the 12th Annual Legal Seminar; the meetings will be held on August 19 to 22, 2003, in San Francisco. Negotiations are underway with The Palace Hotel, the city’s oldest hotel (built in 1875, and fully renovated with modern conveniences) for meeting and guest accommodations. The Palace Hotel is located on the corner of Market and New Montgomery Streets in San Francisco; it is adjacent to the Financial District and is within walking distance of Union Square shopping, Chinatown, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Theater District. If you have any questions concerning the Legal Seminar, please contact Meg Melusen at 703.787.4130 or [email protected].
Staff Contact - Diamond Benefits Life Insurance Company (Ariz.)Annual Interest Payment Received from Security Benefit
NOLHGA has received the annual interest payment for the promissory note from Security Benefit Life Insurance Company (the assuming insurer of DBL’s annuity business). An e-mail message sent to guaranty associations on December 3 detailed the allocation of the payment by state; allocation shares are based on the adjusted pro-rata contributions pursuant to the assumption agreement. A cumulative listing of interest received on the note for the years 1993 through 2002 was also included in the message. This is the final interest payment due on the note.
Checks should be mailed in the near future. Please contact Gus Estrada (703.787.4131 or [email protected]) if you do not receive your payment by December 13.
Staff Contact - Paul Peterson National Heritage Life Insurance Company (Del.)NOLHGA Files Amicus in Support of Liquidator
On December 4, NOLHGA filed a motion in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for leave to file amicus support in connection with the liquidator’s suit to recover approximately 300 co-op apartments in Manhattan. The UFH Apartments case involves allegations that various co-ops and co-op mortgages were fraudulently purchased with NHL money and placed in the name of entities other than NHL. Despite a clear finding of fraud, both the trial court and the court of appeals failed to address all of the liquidator’s claims for relief. NOLHGA’s amicus, together with a motion by the liquidator, seeks a rehearing in the Second Circuit on this issue either by the same three-judge panel or, alternatively, en banc.
Task Force Chair - Dan Orth; Staff Contact -Request for Rehearing in Federal Preemption Case Denied
On October 11, 2002, the Massachusetts receiver for American Mutual Liability Insurance Company and American Mutual Insurance Company of Boston filed a petition with the First Circuit Court of Appeals seeking rehearing of the panel or a rehearing en banc (in other words, the full panel) of that court’s September 18 decision finding that the statutory bar date for filing claims in insurance insolvencies does not apply to claims of the federal government. On November 1, the property and casualty guaranty funds also sought rehearing of that decision; on the same day, however, the First Circuit entered its order denying the receiver’s request for rehearing. Subsequently, on November 19, the First Circuit denied the property and casualty guaranty funds’ request for rehearing. In light of these rulings, the only alternative for additional court review is to file a petition for certiorari asking the United States Supreme Court to review this decision. To the extent any party would choose to pursue that option, it is anticipated that the request would be filed sometime in mid-January 2003.
Staff Contact - Joni Forsythe