The awards, accomplishments, speaking engagements and news of the distinguished faculty of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut School of Law:
Professor Jessica Rubin will give a presentation at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics on January 24, 2019 about her role in establishing Desmond's Law in Connecticut. Desmond's Law is the first in the country that allows judges to appoint advocates on behalf of animals in cases of abuse or neglect.
Professor Alexandra Lahav was among law professors who filed an amicus brief on November 20, 2018, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reconsider its decision to decertify a class in the Asacol antitrust case. A district court in Massachusetts had certified a class of buyers of the drug Asacol, which is used to treat ulcerative colitis. These buyers had alleged an antitrust conspiracy to block less expensive generic alternatives from the shelves. The appeals court decertified the class on the grounds that a small percentage, estimated at no more than 10 percent of the class members, would have bought Asacol out of brand loyalty even if a cheaper alternative had been available. The law professors argued that "Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure does not compel a court to prohibit class actions whenever a small percentage of the class may not have suffered actual damages."
Professor Alexandra Lahav has won the 2019 Civil Justice Scholarship Award from the Pound Civil Justice Institute for her 2017 book "In Praise of Litigation." The newly established award will be given every two years to recognize legal research and writing on topics in civil justice, including access to justice and the benefits of the U.S. civil justice system. The Pound Civil Justice Institute is a national think tank founded by members of the trial bar. The award will be presented at the Pound's Fellows reception in Miami Beach on February 3, 2019. Read more about the book ...
Professor Alexandra Lahav will present the paper "Against Judicial Accountability: Evidence from the Six Month List," written with fellow UConn Law faculty members Miguel de Figueiredo and Peter Siegelman, at the Civil Procedure Workshop at Stanford Law School in Stanford, California, on November 10, 2018.
Professor Peter Kochenburger led a panel discussion at the Casualty Actuarial Society's fall meeting in Toronto on October 16, 2018. His panel discussion, focused on the regulatory responses to changes in the insurance agency, was part of a two-day event that featured several panels and group discussions. The meeting was sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.