Supreme Court of California

The Attorney General may not pursue an action under the California False Claims Act concerning the assets of an insolvent insurance company for which the Insurance Commissioner is acting as conservator or liquidator.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/15/2005
• Published 08/15/2005

Judges

• MORENO, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Manuel M. Medeiros, State Solicitor General, Andrea Lynn Hoch and James Humes, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Taylor S. Carey, Acting Chief Assistant Attorney General, Christopher Ames, Assistant Attorney General, Larry G. Raskin, Randy L. Barrow and Jan Zabriskie, Deputy Attorneys General;  Shartsis, Friese & Ginsburg, Arthur J. Shartsis, Mary Jo Shartsis and Charles R. Rice for Plaintiff and Appellant., Phillips & Cohen, Eric Havian, Colette G. Matzzie;  James Moorman and Amy Wilkins for Taxpayers Against Fraud as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., Christopher Chorba, Robert S. Warren, Robert L. Weigel, Marhsall R. King and James P. Clark for Defendants and Respondents Artemis S.A., Artemis Finance S.N.C., Artemis America Partnership, Aurora S.A. and Francois Pinault., White & Case, Travers D. Wood, C. Randolph Fishburn, Catherine A. Stone, Caroline A.H. Sayers, Richard J. Holwell, Thomas McGanney, Joseph Nocella;  Cleary Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Lawrence B. Friedman and Jennifer L. Kroman for Defendants and Respondents Crédit Lyonnais S.A., Consortium De Realisation S.A. and CDR Enterprises., Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, James E. Lyons, Thomas E. Stevens;  Arnold & Porter, John J. Quinn and John A. Kronstadt for Defendants and Respondents Apollo Advisors, L.P., Leon D. Black, Craig M. Cogut, John J. Hannan, Lion Advisors, L.P., Pegasus Insurance Partners and Eric B. Siegel., Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, Theodore N. Miller, Robert A. Holland, Joshua E. Anderson, Richard D. Bernstein, Virginia A. Seitz and Jacqueline G. Cooper for Defendants and Respondents Aurora National Life Insurance Company and New California Life Holdings, Inc., Pillsbury Winthrop, Phillip S. Warden, John M. Grenfell, Robert L. Wallen;  Foley & Lardner, William Carlisle Herbert, Lori V. Minassian, Kathleen R. Pasulka-Brown, Susanne R. Blossom;  McNitt & Loeb and Robert L. McNitt for Bank of New York, Bank of New York Corporate Trust, Chase Bank Texas, Chase Manhattan Trust Company, N.A., Wells Fargo Bank, Minnesota, N.A., National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations and Structured Settlements Trade Association as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents., Horvitz & Levy, David M. Axelrad and Daniel J. Gonzalez for 21st Century Insurance Company as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.