COURT DECLINES TO SEAL CONFIDENTIAL REINSURANCE PROVISIONS
A New York federal court declined to seal portions of a reinsurance agreement at the request of intervening reinsurer Battenkill Insurance Co., LLC (“Battenkill”). Battenkill intervened in an interpleader action brought by Wells Fargo Bank regarding the respective of rights of the various defendants to certain trust proceeds. Battenkill sought to introduce its reinsurance agreement with one of the defendants, and moved to have the agreement sealed due to, what the Court deemed to be “boilerplate” concerns about confidential, proprietary information. The Court held that redacting the agreement as requested would eliminate key, relevant terms pertinent to Battenkill’s substantive grounds for intervention, and might also preclude objecting parties from relying on further redacted portions in any response thereto. It therefore held that Battenkill had not met the high threshold necessary to sealing. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Wales LLC, No. 13-Civ-6781 (USDC S.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2014)
This post written by John Pitblado.
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