REINSURANCE INFORMATION NOT DISCOVERABLE
The Flintkote Company (“Flintkote”), an insolvent asbestos manufacturer, brought this action against its insurers for failure to defend or indemnify for claims allegedly covered under a policy in force between 1958 and 1961 and requested discovery of its insurer’s reserves and reinsurance information. In allowing discovery of reserves information, the district court found this information relevant to the plaintiff’s claims of bad faith in that the information could be relevant to show the difference between what the insurers expected to pay for claims and communication with the plaintiff regarding the scope of loss. The court then denied plaintiff’s request to discover reinsurance documents, determining that the reinsurance agreements were not directly at issue or relevant to the litigation. The Flintkote Co. v. Gen. Accident Assurance Co., Case No. 04-01827 (USDC N.D. Cal. May 26, 2009).
This post written by Dan Crisp.
