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D&O Liability Policies: A Potential Asset for Troubled Companies

By Sallie Lux
October 28, 2008

One has only to open the newspaper, access the Internet, or turn on a television or radio to get a glimpse of the current turbulent economic climate. Businesses are cutting back or cutting jobs in an effort to survive, and the ongoing viability of many corporations and institutions appears to be in jeopardy. Historically, this type of economic climate is predictive of increased bankruptcy filings, liquidations, and other insolvencies. Under the appropriate circumstances, a company's directors' and officers' liability policies are potential corporate assets that should not be forgotten or ignored.

Directors' and officers' liability policies provide protection to officers and directors for claims against corporate officers and directors arising out of “wrongful acts” taken in their official capacities. “Wrongful acts” are defined in the policy itself, but typically extend to both acts and omissions, subject to stated exclusions. A wrongful act is typically defined as “breach of duty, neglect, error, misstatement, misleading statement, omission, or their misconduct as a director or officer.” A wide variety of activities may be covered, such as negligent omissions in proxy materials, misrepresentations of financial conditions and operations, violations of state law, overstating the corporation's net worth and future prospects, breaches of fiduciary duty, certain claims of self-dealing, misrepresentation, and constructive fraud.

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