NY AG to file bid-rigging suit against Universal Life News
NY AG to file bid-rigging suit against Universal Life

[JURIST] NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is expected to file suit Friday or Monday against health insurance consulting firm Universal Life Resources, stemming from a seven-month investigation into bid-rigging in the insurance industry. United Policy Holders, a consumer insurance group, has already filed suit against Universal, alleging that the company accepted payments from insurers to send customers. Spitzer accused Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance consultant, of similar charges last month. JURIST's Paper Chase has ongoing coverage of Spitzer. Reuters has more.

1:30 PM ET – Spitzer's office has filed the suit against Universal. Read the complaint [PDF] and a press release from the AG's office. The Financial Times has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.