Declarations

TPLF Disclosure Rules “A broad spectrum of business leaders agree that nonparty financial stakes in litigation should be disclosed. A rule requiring TPLF disclosure would be consistent with the fundamental principle of transparency that is deeply rooted in our legal system and is critical to courts and litigants who are trying to manage and settle their cases.” — Alex Dahl, Lawyers for Civil Justice’s (LCJ) general counsel. LCJ includes the insurance executives and counsel from more than 200 companies that submitted a letter to a federal court rules committee urging development of a third-party litigation funding (TPLF) disclosure requirement. AI in the Courtroom “It’s true now more than ever: The competition is not other insurance companies. It’s the plaintiffs’ lawyers.” — Brian McCarthy, CEO of eMaxx Assurance, a group of Florida-based property/casualty insurance firms, on the growing use of AI and software in courts. AI allows the plaintiffs’ lawyers to zero in on reptile tactics at trial, McCarthy said, referring to what some behavioral scientists have dubbed the “reptilian brain” — the oldest and most primitive parts of humans’ minds that can produce revulsion at an insurer’s actions or sympathy for an injured plaintiff. The tactics are aimed at driving higher jury awards and settlement demands, insurers and lawyers said. South Dakota Drought “Everybody is hauling water these days. Some days, there’s so many people lined up that we can’t get our own trucks in and out.” — Nick Randall, shop foreman at J&J Asphalt, whose shop and water station are located in drought-stricken Rapid City, South Dakota. Many of the area’s shallow wells are running slow or have gone completely dry, forcing people to go to great lengths and expense to provide clean water for themselves or their livestock. Until this year, there were three or four places to buy bulk water in Rapid City. But now, J&J is the only public-access spigot still flowing. Equal Rates for Singles “The price of your auto insurance should be based on how you drive, not whether you’re married. For 30 years, insurers have been allowed to use marital status when setting rates. Today, we are taking action to end that outdated practice and reinforce a simple principle: Insurance rates should be grounded in actual driving risk, not personal circumstances that have nothing to do with how someone behaves behind the wheel.” — California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, proposing changing regulations to prohibit insurance companies from using a driver’s marital status as an optional factor when setting private passenger automobile insurance rates. Headache on a Half Shell “I’ve got 5.3 million oysters I can do nothing with. I’m out that whole year of business. It’s looking like I’m out of the second year of business… What I want is for them to cover our losses… They need to fix our ecosystem.” — David Sorrells, the owner of Pig and Rooster Oyster Farms, which has filed a third-party lawsuit against liquefied natural gas company Venture Global, claiming that dredging operations in preparation for the construction of a new terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, resulted in a sediment spill that killed millions of oysters. Sorrells estimates his losses at over $5 million. Regulating Rates “This regulation strengthens transparency for New York policyholders by ensuring that any increase in private passenger auto rates is subject to comprehensive and independent review.” — New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow on a proposed regulation amending the process for insurers filing private passen- ger auto insurance rates. The regulation will require insurers to seek express prior approval from DFS before implementing any upward rate changes. Under the state’s current system, insurers may implement no more than two overall average private passenger auto rate increases without prior approval if the cumulative effect is within 5%.