ISN'T IT RICH? - American Business Media

Discovery took five years.During that time, the Securitiesand Exchange Commissionlaunched its own probe intowhether S.A.C. Capital and theother hedge funds had profitedby short selling on advance informationfrom a negative reporton Fairfax by investment firmMorgan Keegan & Co., Inc.Last September, New Jerseysuperior court judge StephanHansbury dismissed S.A.C.Capital and its founder from thecase, finding no direct evidenceof conspiracy. A handful ofdefendants remain, includingMorgan Keegan and Exis CapitalManagement, Inc.FOR PLAINTIFFS FAIRFAXFINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED(TORONTO) ET AL.Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman:Michael Bowe, MichaelBowen, Marc Kasowitz, AlbertMishaan, James Stricker,Natasha Romagnoli, and JenniferRecine. (They are in New York.)The firm has represented numerousclients in cases against financialinstitutions.Nagel Rice: Bruce Nagel. (He is inRoseland, New Jersey.) The firm waslocal counsel.FOR DEFENDANTS THIRD POINT LLC(NEW YORK) ET AL.In-House: For Third Point: chiefoperating officer and general counselJoshua Targoff.Susman Godfrey: Jacob Buchdahl,Bill Carmody, Tibor Nagy,Stephen Shackelford, andassociates Amanda Bonn andRebecca Tinio. (Shackelford is inDallas; Bonn is in Los Angeles; therest are in New York.) The firm led ajoint defense group for three hedgefund defendants and their principals.FOR DEFENDANTS S.A.C. CAPITALMANAGEMENT, LLC (STAMFORD) ANDSTEVEN COHENIn-House: General counsel PeterNussbaum.Willkie Farr & Gallagher: MartinKlotz, Tariq Mundiya, ScottRose, Steven Reisberg, andassociates Lindsay Addison,Gretchen Adelson, RebeccaBonagura, Casey Donnelly,Jordan Hicks, Benjamin McCallen,Joshua Troy, Rina Vazirani,Sarah Wastler, and SamanthaWilliams. (Addison is in Washington,D.C.; the rest are in New York.) Thefirm has previously represented S.A.C.Capital.McCarter & English: Joseph Boccassiniand associate James Sheil.(They are in Newark.) The firm waslocal counsel.FOR DEFENDANTS KYNIKOSASSOCIATES, LTD. (NEW YORK) ANDJAMES CHANOSArnold & Porter: Stewart Aaron,Susan Shin, John Willett, andassociates James Flynn, MoniqueGaylor, Daniel Kuhn, MarcoMartemucci, and Joel Rohlf.(Rohlf is in Washington, D.C.; the restare in New York.) The firm is a regularoutside counsel to Kynikos.Gibbons: James Lee, BrianMcMahon, and associates JoshuaElias and William Deni, Jr. (Theyare in Newark.) The firm was localcounsel.FOR DEFENDANT MORGAN KEEGAN & CO.,INC. (MEMPHIS)Carrington, Coleman, Sloman& Blumenthal: Bruce Collins,Bryan Erman, Todd Murray,Sharon Shumway, and DianeSumoski. (They are in Dallas.) Thefirm is lead counsel.Schwartz, Simon, Edelstein &Celso: Stephen Edelstein. (He isin Whippany, New Jersey.) The firmwas local counsel.FOR DEFENDANT EXIS CAPITALMANAGEMENT, INC. (NEW YORK)McCormick & O’Brien:O’Brien and counsel ChristopherVan De Water. (They are in NewYork.)—Tania KarasU.S. Fidelity i etal. v.American Re-Insurance nc e et al.On January 24 a NewYork state appellatecourt upheld a $420million summary judgmentruling for United States Fidelity& Guaranty Company andits parent, Travelers Companies,Inc. The victory, whichwas obtained with the help ofSimpson Thacher & Bartlett’sMary Kay Vyskocil, caps oneof the longest-running and mostcomplicated litigations everstemming from asbestos claims,according to news reports.With postjudgment intereston the 2010 ruling, the award,to be paid by its reinsurers, approachesa half-billion dollars.The facts underlying the suitthat USF&G brought against itsreinsurers date back to 1948,when USF&G first wrote a liabilityinsurance policy for WesternAsbestos Co. Western’s successorcompany became the targetof a rash of claims beginning inthe 1970s by people allegedlyharmed by its asbestos. Western,in turn, sued USF&G in 1993seeking indemnification for theasbestos claims.In 2002 Western and USF&Gstruck a billion-dollar settlement.USF&G, by then part ofTravelers, in turn sought indemnificationfrom its reinsurers.But they balked at covering theirshare of the settlement, and in2002 Travelers sued for breachof contract.In August 2010 a judgegranted Travelers a summaryjudgment of $202 million againstAmerican Re and $60 millionagainst ECRA, with interest—everypenny Travelers had sought.The reinsurers appealed.At oral arguments last May,Vyskocil faced off with HerbertWachtell of Wachtell, Lipton,Rosen & Katz, for AmericanRe-Insurance Company;Kathleen Sullivan of QuinnEmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan,for OneBeacon America InsuranceCompany and Excess andCasualty Reinsurance Company;and George Carpinello of Boies,Schiller & Flexner, for Ace Property& Casualty Company andCentury Indemnity Company.Vyskocil argued that thereinsurers were bound toshare USF&G’s burdens in thesettlement under clauses in their... to help you navigate legal obstacles,outside your window, around the world...