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The Calm Before a Storm of Claims: Identifying and Preserving Insurance Coverage for Hurricane Irene-Related Losses
Hurricane Irene slammed into North Carolina early Saturday morning, Aug. 27, 2011, after already causing extensive damage across the Caribbean, and then proceeded up the Atlantic seaboard, knocking out power and leaving widespread destruction of property and more than 40 fatalities in its wake. Hours and even days before Irene made landfall in the continental United States, the hurricane caused major disruptions as a result of unprecedented preparedness actions taken across the East Coast. In addition to declaring states of emergency, authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of approximately 2.5 million people. Mass transit systems in the storm's projected path suspended operations, including the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, the nation's largest mass transit system, which shut down its entire system, including all subways, buses, and commuter rails, for the first time in history. Major airports, ports, bridges, tunnels and highways were closed. Airlines canceled more than 10,000 flights. Non-emergency travel was banned. Businesses and entertainment venues closed. Numerous events were postponed or canceled, including professional sporting events, headliner concerts and all of the weekend's Broadway shows ' as Irene's more dramatic and dangerous production played out. Although the full extent of damage and disruption of business has yet to be assessed in concrete dollar terms, early estimates in the United States alone are about $7 billion. See Derek Hawkins, Insurers Brace For Claims Post-Irene, Law360, New York (Aug. 28, 2011). A week after Irene, with the arduous process of returning to “normal” after the hurricane only in its initial stages, Hurricane Katia loomed on the horizon.
Insurance policies can play an important role in helping businesses and individuals recover from Hurricane Irene and other hurricanes and natural disasters. Much of the property damage and business interruption loss suffered in the wake of Irene is insured. Indeed, early estimates are that as much as $3 billion of losses in the United States as a result of Irene may be covered by insurance. See Id. Businesses often have insurance not only for property damage losses, but also for economic losses arising from business interruption, including interruption incurred as a result of actions of civil authorities (such as the evacuations, mass transit suspensions and airport closures) and for extra expenses incurred to minimize or avoid business interruption. Even if the hurricane did not damage their own property, many businesses will have sustained losses because of damage to the property of business partners (such as customers or suppliers), damage to infrastructure, actions of authorities, transit interruption, power outages, and/or disruption of various other forms of production and support systems. Even businesses located in areas outside the hurricane's path may have suffered losses that may be covered by insurance.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.