US SUPREME COURT AGREES TO HEAR STANDARD FIRE CLASS ACTION APPEAL

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a class-action lawsuit in which the Standard Fire Insurance unit of New York-based p/c group Travelers Cos is accused of failing to fully reimburse losses to homeowners' insurance customers in Arkansas. In a brief filed with the court, the US Chamber of Commerce said the case was a prime example of plaintiffs' attorneys agreeing to seek damages below the $5m threshold that sends class-action suits to federal courts. By keeping suits in more consumer-friendly state courts, the tactic "allows putative class representatives to circumvent congressionally imposed protections simply by betraying the class they purport to represent", the Chamber's brief said.