Gerling Global Reinsurance Corp. of America v. Gallagher

The full case caption appears at the end of this opinion.

Defendant Tom Gallagher (the “Commissioner”), in his capacity as the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Florida, appeals the district court’s entry of summary judgment against him on the Plaintiffs’ challenge to the constitutionality of Florida’s Holocaust Victims Insurance Act, Fla. Stat. � 626.9543 (the “Act”). Plaintiffs — several insurers operating in Florida with corporate affiliations to German insurers who may have issued policies to Holocaust victims prior to 1945 — brought this suit alleging that the Act violates the Due Process Clause and other provisions of the U.S. Constitution. The district court agreed that the Act violates Due Process because it effectively regulates a subject and transactions that have an insufficient connection with Florida. The court therefore granted summary judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor, denied the Commissioner’s cross- motion for summary judgment, and entered a narrow injunction relieving the Plaintiffs of any consequences stemming from their refusal to comply with certain disclosure obligations created by the Act and imposed via subpoenas. The Commissioner now appeals, disputing the district court’s legal analysis. Because we agree that this Act, as applied to these Plaintiffs on these facts, violates Due Process, we affirm the district court, and uphold the limited remedy provided by that court. We do not address the Plaintiffs’ other objections to the Act, and do not decide whether other provisions of the Florida Insurance Code may in some circumstances authorize this kind of inquiry into the affairs of an insurer’s affiliate.