COURT DECLINES TO ORDER PREJUDGMENT SECURITY FROM A FOREIGN NATIONAL DOING REINSURANCE BUSINESS
Pine Top Receivables LLC (“PTR”) was formed when a buyer purchased the assigned rights under certain reinsurance contracts from the Illinois liquidator handling the Pine Top Insurance Company receivership. PTR then brought suit against reinsurer Banco De Seguros Del Estados, which had entered into reinsurance contracts with Pine Top. PTR alleged that Banco owed more than $2,000,000 in overdue balances on the contracts. PTR’s suit sought to compel arbitration. Banco filed a motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds. PTR moved to strike the motion, on the grounds that Banco had not paid prejudgment security under Illinois’ statute requiring security by a nonresident reinsurer. Banco resisted the motion, asserting that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act prohibited the assessment of any “attachment” on a foreign governmental entity. The Court agreed with Banco, finding that it is a government instrumentality of the Republic of Uruguay, and that pre-judgment security under the statute was effectively an “attachment” as the term is used in the Act. Pine Top Receivables of Illinois, LLC v. Banco De Seguros Del Estados, No. 12 C 6357 (USDC N.D. Ill. Dec. 13, 2012).
This post written by John Pitblado.
