Court restricts discovery of reinsurance-related issues
American Re and other reinsurers sued USF&G seeking a declaratory judgment with respect to reinsurance they had issued USF&G that covered asbestos risks. USF&G had agreed to pay approximately $975 million for ultimate distribution to asbestos claimants, while its insured, Western MacArthur Company, filed for bankruptcy. USF&G sought to recover approximately $400 million from its reinsurers. The reinsurers sought discovery of how USF&G had allocated the underlying risks to a single policy year as well as information about the preparation and presentation of the reinsurance claim. USF&G contended that the documents were protected by attorney-client and work product privileges. The lower court had allowed broad discovery, but the appellate panel restricted the scope of discovery to the preparation of the reinsurance claim, which had been covered in a deposition in the underlying case, thus placing the preparation of the claim at issue despite the existence of an applicable privilege. American Re-Insurance Co. v. United States Fid. & Guar. Co., 07 NY Slip Op 04523 (App. Div. First Dept. May 29, 2007).
