In a lengthy February 24, 2017 opinion, a New York federal court denied cross motions for summary judgment on the Follow the Settlements Doctrine, filed by Utica Mutual Insurance Company and Utica’s reinsurer, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. Utica sought to enforce certain reinsurance contracts against FFIC with respect to $35,000,000 Utica spent in settling a dispute with its insured, Goulds, regarding coverage for thousands of asbestos claims filed against Goulds in the 1990s. It is undisputed that, in settling the case, Utica and Goulds agreed that there were aggregate limits in Utica’s primary policies, which would allow penetration of the umbrella policy (this was a central issue in the underlying case, as the primary policies, dated 1966-1972, had been lost) and that the $325,000,000 settlement would come from Utica’s umbrella policy, thereby triggering the reinsurance policies.

Under the Follow the Settlements Doctrine, “as long as the cedent settles in good faith, reasonably, and within the applicable policies, the reinsurer is bound by the settlement and cannot relitigate the underlying coverage issues.” A cedent’s motive to reach reinsurance, while singularly unimportant, may, however, invalidate the follow the settlement protection if it causes the cedent to make an unreasonable settlement allocation.

Utica argued that the undisputed facts established a reasonable basis for the settlement, while FFIC argued that they established Utica’s bad faith. The court disagreed with them both, finding that, while the central facts were undisputed, reasonable inferences could lead to either conclusion and, as such, summary judgment was inappropriate. Utica Mutual Insurance Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., Case No. 6:09-cv-00853 (USDC N.D.N.Y. Feb. 24, 2017).