ARBITRATORS ORDERED TO SELECT UMPIRE WITHOUT ATTORNEY INTERMEDDLING
A federal court has ordered party-selected arbitrators to proceed with the umpire selection process “without intermeddling, obstruction, interference, or other direction from the parties or counsel.” Liberty Mutual’s petition claimed counsel for the reinsurer defendants “injected himself” into the umpire selection process, causing unnecessary complication and delay. The reinsurers’ memorandum in opposition claimed that Liberty Mutual’s petition was prematurely filed, and that the selection process had only been shut down by Liberty Mutual’s filing of a petition in court. The main point of contention was whether the reinsurance agreements at issue contained provisions requiring that prospective umpires fill out written questionnaires as part of the selection process. The court’s two-paragraph order avoids any analysis of the issues addressed by counsel, with the apparent implication that the umpire selection issues are to be worked out entirely by the arbitrators. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., No. 11-10651 (USDC D. Mass. July 6, 2011).
This post written by John Pitblado.
