News & Events

On October 17, 2007, United States District Judge Peter Beer granted defendants' motion to dismiss United States ex rel. Branch Consultants, LLC v. Allstate Insurance Co. et al., No. 06-4091 (E.D. La.), for lack of jurisdiction under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5)). Simpson Thacher represented Travelers subsidiary The Standard Fire Insurance Company in this qui tam brought on behalf of the United States alleging a scheme by fourteen companies that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program to defraud the United States through a practice of overstating Hurricane Katrina flood damages to properties insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. Simpson Thacher acted as the principal author of defendants' motion papers and Bryce Friedman argued the motion on behalf of all National Flood Insurance Program participant/defendants.

The Simpson Thacher team includes Bryce Friedman, Lucy Atwood, Alexis Lorenzo, Amiad Kushner, Ted Debonis, Howie Wachtel, paralegals Rosemarie Artale, Maeghan Vaillancourt and Levan Moulton and summer associate Josh Slocum.

Press coverage of the decision can be found at the following links:

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2007/10/whistleblower_lawsuit_alleging.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5223131.html