COURT REJECTS BID TO SEAL DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF PETITION TO CONFIRM REINSURANCE ARBITRATION AWARD
First State Insurance Company and National Casualty Company arbitrated a reinsurance dispute in which the panel issued a confidentiality order prohibiting disclosure of confidential arbitration information. First State sought confirmation of an arbitration award in its favor by filing a petition in federal district court attaching the arbitration award to its moving papers. National Casualty moved to seal the record, including the award itself, arguing that public interest in access to the documents was low but an affiliate of National Casualty and third-parties could be injured if the award was made public because the award could be used to their disadvantage in other pending arbitration proceedings. The federal district court rejected National Casualty’s motion, holding that National Casualty had not overcome the presumption of public access to judicial documents, which included First State’s moving papers and the award itself. First State Insurance Co. v. National Casualty Co., Case No. 1:13-cv-00704 (USDC S.D.N.Y. Feb 19, 2013).
This post written by Ben Seessel.
See our disclaimer.
