The First Health Settlement Class, Defendant Below-Appellant v. Chartis Speciality Insurance Company, Plaintiff…

Summary

The Court held that the appeal was timely because the notice filed after the Superior Court denied the motion to alter or amend was effective and did not depend on the earlier premature notice. On the merits, the Court applied comity to adopt Louisiana's interpretation of its statute, concluding that the amounts paid in settlement were statutory damages rather than penalties and therefore were not excluded from insurance coverage. The Court reversed the Superior Court's summary judgment for Chartis and remanded.