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The Honorable Engagement Clause and Flexibility In Arbitration Award Relief
Those of you steeped in reinsurance know about the honorable engagement clause. It’s a provision found in the arbitration clause of some (mostly older) reinsurance contracts that gives guidance to the...
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Remedies for Arbitration Clause Impossiblities
Reinsurance disputes, particularly collateral disputes over the technicalities of arbitration, are often caused by the words selected in the drafting of the reinsurance contract. Because there is no...
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Second Circuit Explains (Again) Why Courts Should Not Interfere With Arbitration
Arbitrators and judges have a natural tension. Judges, especially federal judges, wield enormous power and command authority and respect. Arbitrators, particularly in specialized industries like...
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Too Little, Too Late: Post-Arbitration Award Frustrations
Armchair quarterbacking or second-guessing an outcome after an event has occurred is a skill displayed by many. The same is true following a reinsurance arbitration award. It is very easy to...
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Umpire Selection Impasse? Second Circuit Directs District Court to Appoint...
You are involved in a reinsurance dispute in arbitration. Both sides have named their party-appointed arbitrators and have exchanged umpire candidates. One side rejects the other side’s candidates...
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Confidentiality in Arbitration
Much has been said over the years about the benefits of arbitration as a private, confidential mechanism for resolving business disputes. For decades the courts, especially the federal courts, have...
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Evident Partiality As a Ground to Vacate An Arbitration Award
Most insurance and reinsurance arbitrations fall within the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) because they involve interstate commerce. But vacating an FAA arbitration award (there is no...
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Arbitration Means Arbitration Even If It Is About Arbitration
No one should doubt that the federal policy in favor of arbitration is broad and deep. It is evident in how difficult it is to vacate an arbitration award or avoid having to arbitrate a dispute where...
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American Rule Prevails on Petition to Vacate Arbitration Award
Some contracts, including insurance and reinsurance contracts, include provisions providing that the successful party’s damage award will include all costs of the suit or arbitration, including...
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Umpire Disclosure and Vacatur
There is no doubt that the issue of arbitrator disclosures is a very important issue in reinsurance arbitrations and especially in arbitrations conducted under the traditional US party-appointed...
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Are Pre-Award Challenges to Arbitrator Qualifications Still Possible?
One of the most vexing issues facing parties in reinsurance arbitrations is whether the other side’s party-appointed arbitrator qualifies under the arbitrator criteria set forth in the arbitration...
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What a Difference a Word Makes
Lack of precision in reinsurance contract wording has been known to engender anomalous results. Often a single word or phrase can cause a court or arbitrator to construe an agreement in ways...
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Exculpatory Clauses in Reinsurance Agreements
Exculpatory clauses appear in many contracts. They are often used to protect a contracting party from damages caused by its actions or the actions of others. For example, a hold harmless clause may...
View ArticleMarch 2017 Reinsurance Newsletter
This quarter’s Squire Patton Boggs Reinsurance Newsletter focuses on the certified question sent to the New York Court of Appeals by the Second Circuit on Bellefonte. It also features regulatory...
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Relationship? What Relationship?: Evident Partiality and Arbitrator Disclosure
Arbitrators have a special responsibility to disclose all relevant relationships to the parties so that any potential conflicts can be vetted. There are some obvious relationships that need to be...
View ArticleJune 2017 Reinsurance Newsletter
This quarter’s Squire Patton Boggs Reinsurance Newsletter leads off with a summary of a New York federal case where an arbitration award was vacated for evident partiality. It also features an update...
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Arbitration Award Clarification Confirmation
Generally, when an arbitration panel issues a final award the panel is “functus officio“; its powers expired and its duties relieved because it has finished its work and there’s no more to be done....
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When the Court Picks Your Arbitrator
One of the criticisms leveled at arbitration is the length of time it takes to select the arbitration panel and specifically the third arbitrator or umpire. Most arbitration clauses either specify an...
View ArticleSeptember 2017 Reinsurance Newsletter
Our September 2017 Reinsurance Newsletter includes a featured article on discovery of reserves and reinsurance information as well as an update on the US-EU Covered Agreement. It also reports on...
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Confidentiality Agreements in Reinsurance Arbitrations
Confidentiality agreements in reinsurance arbitrations are ubiquitous, but often cause concern when a subsequent arbitration arises over the same or similar contracts with the same or similar parties....
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