Life sciences globalization fuels new developments in international arbitration
The English Court has, for the first time, considered the meaning of a “catastrophe”, as well as how Hours Clauses work in the context of non-damage business interruption losses claimed under two Property Catastrophe Excess...more
Concluding that the arbitrator did not manifestly disregard contract law or overstep his authority, the Georgia Court of Appeals confirmed the arbitrator’s award and remanded the matter for consideration of an award of...more
Arbitration awards may only be vacated in certain limited circumstances. A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Georgia is a reminder of the standard required to overturn an arbitration award. In Adventure...more
Concerns about bias and prejudice from multiple repeat appointments have plagued party-appointed arbitrators for years. This is true of international arbitration, commercial arbitration and, of course, insurance and...more
Perhaps Snoop Dogg should stick to gin n’ juice, as the rapper’s foray into promoting cognac and brandy products caused him to become the subject of a decade-long arbitral dispute, which was finally resolved last month. On...more
People often agree to arbitrate their disputes because they presume that, unlike litigation, the proceedings will be confidential. An increasing number of court decisions suggest that this presumption may be unwarranted....more
Interstate National Dealer Services, Inc. (“INDS”) challenged an arbitration award pursuant to OCGA § 9-9-13(b)(3), alleging the arbitrators overstepped their authority, and (5) the arbitrator’s manifest disregard of the law....more
PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd. brought this action seeking a declaratory judgment that a breach of contract dispute with Universal Life Insurance Co. was not subject to arbitration and must be litigated in federal or state...more
In a dispute centering on the preclusive effect of an arbitration award, the defendant sought to enjoin the plaintiff’s arbitration demand as it was an attempt to collaterally attack the confirmed award. ...more
The Eighth Circuit reversed a district court decision vacating an arbitration award relating to a federal crop insurance policy issued through a standard reinsurance agreement with the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. (FCIC). The...more
The case involved a “second layer special casualty excess agreement of reinsurance” under which reinsurers General Reinsurance Corp. and SCOR Reinsurance Co. agreed to cover a certain amount in excess of Chicago Insurance...more
A federal court in New York recently held that an arbitration panel retained the right to resolve any dispute arising out of an arbitration award. In Chicago Insurance Company v. General Reinsurance Corporation et al., no....more
In the latest iteration of a complex reinsurance dispute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a 2018 district court order enforcing an arbitration award against IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A. (IRB). ...more
In the wake of the liquidation of Legion Indemnity Co., the Illinois Director of Insurance, as liquidator of Legion, and Catalina Holdings arbitrated claims originating under reinsurance agreements between Legion and a...more
A court confirmed a final arbitration award in favor of Continental Insurance Company (as successor by merger to Continental Reinsurance Corporation) and against AXA Versicherung AG. Continental Re was a reinsurer of...more
A federal district court in Massachusetts has confirmed and entered as a judgment of the court an arbitration award in favor of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London against Century Indemnity Company regarding reinsurance...more
O’Connell Landscape Maintenance, Inc. (O’Connell) and Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co. (AUCRA) entered into a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA)....more
The Second Circuit recently held that parties seeking to vacate awards under Federal Arbitration Act Section 10(a)(2) must satisfy a higher burden in showing evident partiality by a party-appointed arbitrator. ...more
The Second Circuit recently joined other circuit courts in adopting a different standard for determining the evident partiality of a party-appointed arbitrator than a neutral arbitrator or umpire. In Certain Underwriting...more
A Brazilian mining and steelmaking company (Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, S.A. (“CSN”)), a Brazilian insurance company (IRB Brazil Resseguros, S.A. (“IRB”)), and an American insurance company (National Indemnity Company...more
The plaintiff, a farming company, demanded arbitration against Diversified Crop Insurance Services over the nonpayment of federally reinsured claims....more
Granting a motion to enforce an arbitration award, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has held that a reinsurer is liable for a $5 million settlement entered into between a policyholder and the...more
A New York Court vacated an arbitration award, finding that a party appointed arbitrator’s undisclosed relationships with the appointing party amounted to a relatively infrequent instance in which such nondisclosure...more
The Second Circuit has rejected the attempt of a retrocedent, IRB Brasil Reseguros S.A. (“IRB”), to vacate certain arbitration awards against it in favor of its retrocessionaire, National Indemnity Company (“NICO”). IRB...more
Plaintiffs secured an interim arbitration award in the amount of $7.8 million, plus interest, in what the court described as a complex insurance/reinsurance program. Seeking to collect on the award, plaintiffs served a...more