The case of Tryggingarfelagio Foroyar P/F v CPT Empresas Maritimas S.A. [2011] EWHC 589 (Admlty) concerned whether the agreement between the claimant’s insured and the defendant was subject to a set of standard terms which incorporated an English arbitration clause.
Read MoreIn Guangzhou Dockyards Co Ltd v ENE Aegialii [2010] EWHC 2826 (Comm), the High Court recently upheld the well-established principle that under English law, appeals against arbitral awards cannot be made on issues of fact. The case did, however, present the novel argument that it would be permissible to bring such an appeal either under the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) or under the inherent jurisdiction of the court where there was an agreement between the parties that an appeal could be made on “any issue arising out of any award”.
Read MoreThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued a unanimous opinion in reversing a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to hold that a party-appointed arbitrator’s involvement in an earlier arbitration between the same parties did not disqualify him or render him incapable of serving in a subsequent arbitration involving related issues.
Read MorePolimaster Ltd. and RAE Systems, Inc. were parties to an agreement that required disputes between the parties to be “settled by means of arbitration at the defendant’s si[t]e.” After a dispute arose between the parties, Polimaster commenced arbitration in California (RAE’s principal place of business). RAE answered the arbitration demand, asserting certain affirmative defenses, and also counterclaimed against Polimaster.
Read MoreThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued its opinion in Trustmark Ins. Co. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co., a case that both the reinsurance and general arbitration communities have been following closely. In a unanimous opinion, the Seventh Circuit reversed the District Court’s decision to hold that a party-appointed arbitrator’s prior involvement in an earlier arbitration between the parties did not disqualify him or render him incapable of serving in a subsequent arbitration involving related issues.
Read MoreWe have been following on www.insurereinsure.com various decisions that concern whether state laws that bar enforcement of arbitration agreements in insurance or reinsurance contracts are preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”). As noted here (insert link to Dec. 29th post), the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review the Fifth Circuit’s holding that the Convention on The Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”), implemented by the FAA, preempts and supersedes Louisiana state law precluding enforcement of arbitration agreements.
Read MoreIn OneBeacon America Insurance Co. v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation, 09-CV-11495-PBS (D.Mass. December 23, 2010), a motion was brought by petitioner OneBeacon to vacate an arbitration award on the basis that the arbitrators were guilty of misconduct for refusing to permit necessary discovery and hear certain evidence. The main issue in the arbitration itself concerned contract interpretation, but OneBeacon relied upon industry custom and practice to support its case.
Read MoreIn Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing, L.P. v. The Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee of Bayou Group, LLC, et al., Slip Copy, 2010 WL 4877847 (S.D.N.Y. 2010), the court denied petitioner’s motion to vacate a $20.580 million award obtained in a FINRA arbitration by The Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee of Bayou Group (“OUCCBG”).
Read MoreIn a case we have been following on www.insurereinsure.com, Louisiana Safety Association of Timbermen – Self Insured Fund v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari to hear a dispute between an insurance pool and its reinsurer concerning whether the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”) preempts a Louisiana statute that bars enforcement of arbitration agreements in insurance or reinsurance contracts.
Read MoreRecently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling denying the motion of plaintiffs-appellants (collectively “LSED”) to compel arbitration of a dispute with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (“MLPFS”), finding that LSED waived its right to arbitrate by litigating the case for nearly a year before filing its motion.
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