Reinsurance Focus

Grosvenor v. Qwest Corp., No. 12-1095 (10th Cir. Aug. 14, 2013) (dismissing Qwest’s appeal of district court’s order granting partial summary judgment because Qwest did not seek to compel arbitration in its motion for summary judgment and therefore did not properly invoke appellate jurisdiction under the FAA).

PoolRe Insurance Corp. v. Organizational Strategies, Inc., No. H-13-1857 (S.D. Tex. Jul. 29, 2013) (denying plaintiff’s motion to compel first arbitration because same motion was pending in the Delaware federal district court; staying ongoing arbitration proceedings in a second arbitration between the same parties, having determined that the claims are clearly not arbitrable because they were carved out of the arbitration clause by a separate agreement).

Marsh & McLennan Cos. v. GIO Insurance Ltd., No. 11 Civ. 8391 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 6, 2013) (staying action pending arbitration, rather than dismissing action, because dismissal is an appealable order that could further delay quick resolution through arbitration; denying defendant insurance company’s motion to release the $1.5 million security it was required to deposit with the court as an “unauthorized foreign insurer,” favoring New York’s public policy that a foreign insurer’s funds should be available in New York to satisfy any potential judgment).

Hirsch v. Amper Financial Services, Inc., No. 070751 (N.J. Aug. 7, 2013) (reversing Appellate Division’s affirmance of Law Divison’s grant of defendants’ motion to compel arbitration because intertwinement of claims and parties alone is insufficient to warrant application of equitable estoppel to compel arbitration).

McInnes v. LPL Financial, LLC, No. SJC-11356 (Mass. Aug. 12, 2013) (vacating order denying defendants’ motion to stay proceedings and compel arbitration and holding that claims alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices in violation of Gen. Law ch. 93A, § 9 must be referred to arbitration where the contract involves interstate commerce and the arbitration agreement is enforceable under the FAA).

Brown v. MHN Government Services, Inc., No. 87953-2 (Wash. Aug. 15, 2013) (affirming order denying appellant MHN’s motion to compel arbitration, applying California law according to choice of law provision in arbitration and agreement and finding provisions regarding arbitrator selection, statute of limitations, and fee shifting to be unconscionable, thereby rendering the entire arbitration agreement unenforceable).

This post written by Abigail Kortz.

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