Day: June 7, 2008

Spike needed in US economy, keep the soup!

Bermuda is what “Insuranceland” would look like if Disney added such a unit to its Epcot Center. On practically every block in downtown Hamilton, you see a major insurance company or brokerage office. It’s almost impossible to sit down at any public place and not run into someone you know from the business.

Sam Friedman paints an interesting picture of Bermuda – You’ve got to love a place that spikes its soup! – and a troubling one as well. While covering Professional Liability Underwriting Society conference, Friedman filed this report.

Bermuda faces a number of threats to its supremacy as a global insurance center, including a potentially “catastrophic” challenge to its relative tax advantage, the U.S. consul general warned in a speech here. Continue reading “Spike needed in US economy, keep the soup!”

There was more going on before Judge Acker threw his temper tantrum

NMC over at folo unearthed some very interesting filings in US. v Scruggs. The three “so-called” special federal prosecutors appointed by “so-called” Judge Acker to prosecute Scruggs for criminal contempt were confused about the timing for appeal of Judge Vinson’s order. Criminal appeals have to be within 30 days, other appeals have 60 days to file.

. . . a little over two weeks after thirty days, the special prosecutors filed a motion for more time to file a notice of appeal, saying they had inadvertently misunderstood the rules. The motion is Exhibit B to Judge Acker’s order (found here).

Scruggs’s lawyers (Keker’s firm) fired back with a forceful and blunt response that this wasn’t allowed, and Judge Vinson almost immediately agreed, ruling that there was no basis to extend the time for a notice of appeal.

Well, Judge Acker apparently liked the description of the facts about Scruggs’s behavior in the special prosecution’s motion (although he does admit Judge Vinson was correct in overruling it), and so Judge Acker attached the motion as an exhibit to his opinion from yesterday.

Scruggs’ response is very telling about what happened. The special three called for evidentiary hearings in Continue reading “There was more going on before Judge Acker threw his temper tantrum”