Suffolk Federal Credit Union (“SFCU”) brought an action against Cumis Insurance Society to recover certain losses arising under a fidelity bond.  During discovery, SFCU served interrogatories, that included a request that Cumis disclose the identity of any reinsurance agreement that might indemnify Cumis for the losses at issue.  Cumis objected to the interrogatory on the grounds that it was overly broad, unduly burdensome, and not relevant to the claims or defenses asserted by either party.  SFCU then moved to compel production of the information sought.

The court granted SFCU’s motion, finding that Cumis was required under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(A)(iv) to disclose information concerning any insurance agreement (including reinsurance contracts) which might ultimately provide a source of indemnity for payments made to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment.  Acknowledging a split among courts on the issue, the court followed those jurisdictions which hold that reinsurance agreements fall within the plain language of Rule 26 when a primary insurer is a party to a dispute.  Thus, the court found that SFUC had an absolute right to this discovery, without examining the viability of the objections lodged by Cumis.

Click here to review a copy of the court’s decision, captioned Suffolk Federal Credit Union v. Cumis Ins. Society, Inc., No. 10-0001 (E.D.N.Y. 2010).