Kansas City Star Reports on Firm Client NRA
The Kansas City Star reported on Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors’ representation of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a lawsuit against insurance broker Lockton Companies, alleging that Lockton breached its contract to administer the NRA Carry Guard insurance program for the association. The article titled “Months after getting out of NRA insurance business, headaches pile up for Lockton,” is dated May 7, 2018.
"The NRA believes that Lockton violated its fiduciary obligations – to the detriment of the organization, insurance program it was entrusted to run, and the policyholders who obtained protections by those insurance products," firm partner William A. Brewer III told the Star. "For almost 20 years, the NRA relied on Lockton as the subject-matter expert with respect to various insurance products that were offered to NRA members and other law-abiding gun owners."
Firm Client NRA Sues Insurance Broker
Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors represents the National Rifle Association (NRA) in a lawsuit against insurance broker Lockton Companies, alleging that Lockton breached its contract with the NRA in connection with the NRA Carry Guard insurance program.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the lawsuit in an article, “National Rifle Association Sues Its Insurance Broker,” dated May 4, 2018. The lawsuit against Lockton was filed in federal court on May 4 in northern Virginia. According to press reports, Lockton was fined $7 million by New York regulators and agreed to no longer provide various insurance programs in New York.
Bloomberg News also reported on the filing and quoted the complaint: “In the face of this politically motivated coercion, Lockton should have honored its fiduciary obligations and longstanding business relationship with the NRA and taken full responsibility for any compliance related concerns…Simply put, Lockton ceased to protect the NRA and its interests.”
Bloomberg quoted firm partner William A. Brewer III on the lawsuit.
“The NRA will take appropriate steps to make sure law-abiding gun owners in New York and across the country have access to the insurance coverage they need,” Brewer told Bloomberg News. “Such actions unduly burden the free market system and impact law-abiding members of the NRA.”
Law360 Reports on Sanctions Against Transamerica
In an article dated January 10, 2018, Law360 reported that a California federal judge ordered Transamerica Life Insurance Company to pay nearly $200,000 in sanctions for obstructing the discovery process in a lawsuit brought by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors on behalf of DCD Partners, LLC.
DCD Partners sued Transamerica in 2015 alleging that it increased life insurance premiums on a predominantly African-American church congregation in South Los Angeles. In September 2017, a jury awarded DCD Partners more than $5.6 million.
The sanctions relate to Transamerica’s conduct in responding to discovery requests in late 2016. “We appreciate the attention of the court to this matter,” William A. Brewer III told Law360. “Our clients believe this decision and monetary award validates what they have believed all along — that defendants sought to frustrate their pursuit of discovery in this important matter.”
Please see the article here (subscription required).
Law 360 Reports on Firm’s Trial Victory
Law 360 reported that Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, won a four-day jury trial in federal court in Los Angeles that resulted in a $5.6 million victory for its client, DCD Partners, LLC. As reported, on September 13, 2017 an eight-person jury in United States District Court, for the Central District of California awarded plaintiffs more than $5.6 million against Transamerica Life Insurance Company (“Transamerica”).
DCD Partners sued Transamerica in 2015, alleging Transamerica improperly increased life insurance premiums by 50 percent in 2013 on more than 2,000 insureds – predominantly African-Americans from South Los Angeles, who were parishioners of the Praises of Zion Missionary Baptist Church, and other community churches. In 2004, the insureds became part of a charitable life insurance program which provided family members money for burial expenses, and funds for the community activities of the Personal Involvement Center, and other non-profit groups. The jury rendered a verdict for DCD Partners on its claims of breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
The Wall Street Journal Reports on Firm Case in Los Angeles, CA
The Wall Street Journal reported on one of the firm’s current cases in Los Angeles, CA. The article, “Life Insurer Faces Off Against African-American Church in Battle Over Rates,” dated September 1, 2017, focuses on issues relating to a life insurance program that benefits members of the South Los Angeles community. As reported in the WSJ, the case “sheds light on the once-hot use of ‘investor-owned’ life insurance for nonprofit fundraising.”
Dallas Business Journal: Headington Cos. Fires Back at Forest City
July 24, 2015 — The Dallas Business Journal (DBJ) reports on a real estate dispute between an affiliate of Forest City and Brewer client Headington Realty and Capital LLC.
On July 8, the Forest City affiliate filed suit against billionaire Tim Headington's companies claiming that Headington's plan to develop a five-story boutique shop on Main Street in downtown Dallas would harm a residential building next door — blocking the windows in several units.
In the face of the lawsuit, the report states, Headington has "fired back with a strongly worded letter through his attorney William 'Bill' Brewer III."
The letter asks Forest City to immediately dismiss its suit with prejudice "because it is groundless and brought in bad faith."
"The claims they articulated are so grossly lacking in any legal merit, you have to wonder why it was done," Brewer told the DBJ. "In Texas, you are allowed to develop your property and utilize it to its best effect. It is particularly annoying here, given the present owner of the property frankly is not only a newcomer to Dallas, in a sense, but stood silently by when the property was up for sale."
"They had an opportunity to buy it, restrict it in some way and put it back on the market, but they didn't do that," Brewer said.
To read the full article, “Headington Cos. Fires Back at Forest City in Fight for Public Perception,” click here (subscription required).
Rolling Stone Reports on Rapper 50 Cent's Bankruptcy Filing
July 13, 2015 — Rolling Stone today reported that Brewer client Curtis Jackson, known as 50 Cent, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The report quotes a firm press release, which states that the filing will allow the rapper to "reorganize his financial affairs, as he addresses various professional liabilities and takes steps to position the future of his various business interests."
"The filing for personal bankruptcy protection permits Mr. Jackson to continue his involvement with various business interests and continue his work as an entertainer, while he pursues an orderly reorganization of his financial affairs," said William A. Brewer III, counsel to Jackson.
To read the full report, click here.
Wall Street Journal: Judges Block Immigrant Laws in Texas, South Carolina
July 23, 2013 – The Wall Street Journal reports that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an ordinance by the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch that sought to bar landlords from renting to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal documentation.
The judges concluded that the ordinance illegally interfered with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws. The article noted that the suburbs received national attention after first attempting to enact the law in 2006, citing an influx of undocumented immigrants.
Attorney William “Bill” Brewer, who represented plaintiffs challenging the ordinance, said the law was motivated by community members who were apprehensive about the growing Latino population.
“It’s not within the power of a municipality to slow down or change the ethnic composition of their communities through an effort to regulate immigration,” he said.
Read more here.