Court Grants Partial Summary Judgment on Defamation and Interference Claims in Reinsurance Relationship

In a September 22, 2006 post to this blog, we reported on a judgment entered by the UK Commercial Court for damages arising out of a commission addendum entered into by a reinsurer's employee, without authorization from his employer, and a reinsurance intermediary, which provided for an additional “commission” to the intermediary in the amount of 40% of the gross premiums collected for reinsurance placed pursuant to a binder. At a trade conference in the US, an underwriter for the reinsurer made disparaging statements about the intermediary and its US affiliate, and the US affiliate filed suit, inter alia, for damages for breach of contract, interference and defamation. The US Court stayed the prosecution of a breach of contract claim, since it was the subject of the UK action, and granted the reinsurer summary judgment on the remaining claims. Part of the basis for the ruling was a determination that the UK trial court’s judgment amounted to a finding that the European affiliate of the intermediary had defrauded the reinsurer, which carried the reinsurer’s burden to prove the defense that the allegedly defamatory statements were true. Risk Insur. and Reinsur. Solutions v. R + V Versicherung, Case No. 04-61119 (USDC S.D. Fla. June 7, 2007).