⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit hears Yaquinto versus CNA Insurance. ActiTech settled a Texas lawsuit accusing it of charging unlawfully high interest and assigned its insurance claims to Robert Yaquinto, the bankruptcy trustee for the suing company's parent. The bankruptcy court held that Continental Casualty's liability policy for directors and officers did not cover the settlement, and the district court affirmed. Mazin Sbaiti of Sbaiti and Company will argue for Yaquinto that the policy excludes only penalties payable to the government and that a negotiated settlement was not a penalty imposed on ActiTech. David Timmins of Spencer Fane will answer for Continental that the Texas statute calls the requested recovery a civil penalty, which the policy expressly excludes.

Yaquinto v. CNA Insurance (No. 25-11280) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued August 4, 2026.