Court Holds Multimillion Dollar Settlement Agreements Unenforceable Against Simpson Thacher Insurance Client
On April 17, 2026, Simpson Thacher secured an order in New Jersey Superior Court, Middlesex County, finding multimillion dollar settlement agreements were unenforceable against clients Utica Mutual Insurance Company and Republic Franklin Insurance Company (“Utica”). Utica’s insured had reached settlement agreements with certain claimants without Utica’s consent, through which the insured agreed to assign its rights under Utica’s policies to claimants in exchange for releases from the claimants’ personal injury claims. The court concluded that the agreements were unenforceable against Utica under New Jersey law, because Utica had at all times provided a defense to its insured with respect to the underlying claims.
The Simpson Thacher team included Josh Polster and Andrew Marrero.