In a short handwritten ruling, a court recently denied Odyssey Reinsurance Company’s challenge to a replacement arbitrator appointed by its opponents, Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London Syndicate 53 and Reliastar Reinsurance Group. The parties had selected their arbitrators and were beginning the process of selecting an umpire, when Lloyd’s and Reliastar informed Odyssey that they had replaced their appointed arbitrator. Odyssey objected to the replacement arbitrator on the ground that the individual did not satisfy the requirements of the underlying arbitration agreements, which provided: “The arbitrators and umpire shall be officials of Insurance and or Reinsurance companies authorized to transact business in one or more states of the United States of America and writing the kind of business about which the difference has arisen.” Odyssey Re contended that, while the replacement arbitrator was an officer of a broker that had corporate affiliates that wrote the type of insurance business at issue in the arbitration, the arbitrator was not an officer of an actual insurance or reinsurance company. The court rejected Odyssey’s objection, ruling simply that the arbitrator “meets the qualifications” of the arbitration agreement. Odyssey Re v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London Syndicate 53 et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-09014 (USDC S.D.N.Y. Oct. 9, 2015).