Reinsurance

Subscribe to Reinsurance via RSS

Greg Hoffnagle and Marc Voses of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge’s New York office will be presenting “Green Buildings and Risk Management: What Reinsurers Need to Know” at 4:30 p.m. on September 15, 2010.  EAPD is hosting a reception following their presentation so if you are planning to attend the conference, please come by and meet our attorneys and network with your peers in the industry. …
Read More Reinsurance Association of America’s ReClaims Conference – September 15-16, 2010 (New York)

In Fensterstock v. Education Finance Partners and Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., plaintiff Fensterstock commenced a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Education Finance Partners and Affiliated Computer Services for engaging in fraudulent and deceptive practices in connection with the issuance of student loans.  The defendant lenders moved to stay the action and compel individual arbitration in accordance with the loan agreement’s binding arbitration clause. …
Read More Second Circuit Finds that Class Arbitration Waiver Clause Is Unconscionable, Refuses to Compel Arbitration

In a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, MCI Constructors, LLC v. City of Greensboro, No. 09-1600 (4th Cir. July 1, 2010), the court held that the district court did not err in denying motions to vacate certain arbitration awards. …
Read More Fourth Circuit Rules that Panel Did Not Exceed the Scope of Its Powers and Declines to Opine Whether Manifest Disregard of the Law is Available After Hall Street

Defendants, certain ceding companies, appealed a judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York holding them liable for fraudulently inducing the plaintiff reinsurer to enter into two reinsurance facilities.  The defendants also appealed the portion of the judgment finding (a) that the cedents waived their right to arbitration by pursuing it in a summary judgment motion instead of at the outset of the dispute and (b) that the reinsurer’s claims sounded in fraud (as opposed to contract) and were thus not arbitrable under a provision in a facultative reinsurance agreement providing for arbitration of disputes “arising out of the interpretation of this agreement.” …
Read More Second Circuit Finds that Reinsurer’s Fraud Claims Are Not Arbitrable, but Reverses District Court’s Judgment and Holds that those Claims Are Time-Barred, Relieving Cedents of Liability

Helene Tomasian, a non-party to an arbitration between Ware and C.D. Peacock, Inc., moved to quash an arbitrator’s subpoena compelling her attendance at a pre-hearing deposition.  See Ware v. C.D. Peacock, Inc., No. 10-cv-2587 (N.D. Ill. 2010).  The subpoena was issued at the request of Peacock after the arbitrator denied its motion for summary judgment based upon “in large part” the affidavit of Ms. Tomasian. …
Read More Federal District Court Finds that Arbitrator Lacks the Authority to Issue Pre-Hearing Deposition Subpoena to Non-Party Under the Federal Arbitration Act

A decision of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC v. Rutherford, No. 09-2433 (8th Cir. 2010), recently held that diversity of citizenship jurisdiction in the context of a motion to compel arbitration under § 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) can be determined by looking at the citizenship of the parties named in the proceedings before the district court, plus any indispensible parties who must be joined. …
Read More Eighth Circuit Rules on Diversity Jurisdiction for Federal Actions to Compel Arbitration

Plaintiff moved to vacate an arbitration award issued in favor of defendant Stroehmann Bakers on the grounds that, among other things, the arbitrator’s decision was in “manifest disregard of the law.”  The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, relying upon Third Circuit case law, noted that plaintiff was required to establish that the arbitrator’s award had absolutely no support from the record in order to prevail on this basis.  The court found that plaintiff had failed to meet the standard for manifest disregard of the law, and thus denied plaintiff’s motion to vacate. …
Read More New Jersey Federal Court Finds That Arbitration Award Was Not in Manifest Disregard of the Law

As previously reported in this blog, President Obama signed into law the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010 (the “Iran Sanctions Act”) in July, following the less stringent sanctions passed earlier by the U.N.  For a more detailed discussion of the Iran Sanctions Act, see here.  Canada, the European Union and Australia soon followed with similar sanctions aimed at Iran’s financial and energy sectors. …
Read More Lloyd’s Market Drafts Exclusion to Ensure Compliance With Iran Sanctions

As a reminder, the U.S. Reinsurance Under 40s Group event will be hosting an event at the rooftop of Hotel Indigo on August 26, starting at 5:30.  The rooftop promises great views of New York and an opportunity to network with others in the industry. …
Read More Reminder: Please Join the U.S. Re Under 40s Group on August 26 in New York

In Citibank, N.A. v. Stok & Associates, P.A., No. 09-13556 (11th Cir. July 20, 2010), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a party did not waive its right to compel arbitration even though it initially participated in the court proceeding. …
Read More Eleventh Circuit Rules that Party Did Not Waive Its Right to Arbitrate