On Thursday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a Houston federal judge’s order requiring Lloyd’s of London insurers to pay for the lawyers for R. Allen Stanford and his co-defendants. Last month, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ordered the insurance company to pay the legal costs within 10 days.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Lloyd’s of London refused to pay for criminal defense counsel when former Stanford CFO James M. Davis pleaded guilty last August. The insurers determined that the defendants participated in money laundering, and therefore it need not cover the costs under the terms and conditions of the policy. However, Davis did not plead guilty to money laundering, and no court has found that anyone involved in the case laundered money, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Arguments will be held on Feb. 25 in New Orleans.
