An attempt by Rapid Settlements Ltd to "circumvent" the New York Structured
Settlement Protection Act by arguing that the Full Faith and Credit Clause in Article IV of the United States Constitution required the United States District Court for the
Western District of New York: "to give preclusive effect to a Texas state court judgment confirming the arbitration award" was rejected by the Second Circuit. Court of Appeals . The affirmation by the 3 judge panel was unanimous and hit on 3 major points:
- Declaring "void and unenforceable" a purported assignment to Rapid of structured settlement payment rights;
- Declaring "void and unenforceable" an arbitration award purporting to effectuate the assignment;
- Enjoined Rapid Settlements from taking any further legal action "in any forum" to recover the structured settlement annuity payments.
The case was captioned "Pacific Life Insurance
Company v. Rapid Settlements, Ltd." and involved a New York resident named Joyce
Allen, a structured structured settlement recipient who attempted
to transfer payment rights through Rapid Settlements.
I guess in this case a more appropriate name for that Texas outfit would be "Giant Tortoise settlements".
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