Carlton Fields

NAIC APPROVES SEVEN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AS QUALIFIED JURISDICTIONS FOR REINSURANCE COLLATERAL REDUCTION REQUIREMENTS AND ANNOUNCES ACTION ON INSURANCE PRIORITIES

December 22, 2014 by Carlton Fields

At its December 11, 2014 meeting, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) approved seven foreign countries as Qualified Jurisdictions so that reinsurers licensed and domiciled in those jurisdictions will be eligible for reinsurance collateral reduction requirements under NAIC’s Credit for Reinsurance Model Law. Four of those jurisdictions – Bermuda, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, were previously on NAIC’s list of Conditional Qualified Jurisdictions. Effective January 1, 2015, these four, along with Japan, Ireland and France, will be full Qualified Jurisdictions subject to a 5-year term, after which they will be re-evaluated under the provisions of the Qualified Jurisdiction Process.

NAIC also adopted the Revised Insurance Holding System Regulatory Act and Actuarial Guideline 48. The Act, in part, updates the model to clarify the group-wide supervisor for a defined class of internationally active insurance groups. AG 48 establishes national standards regarding certain captive reinsurance transactions and includes regulation of the types of assets held in a backing insurer’s statutory reserve. AG 48 takes effect in 2015. NAIC issued a news release on its actions, which can be found here.

This post written by Renee Schimkat.

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REINSURANCE ARBITRATION AWARD CONFIRMED, REACHING RESULT CONTRARY TO PREVIOUS AWARD AGAINST DIFFERENT REINSURER

December 18, 2014 by Carlton Fields

On March 11, 2014, we reported on the First Circuit’s ruling in a contested arbitration between OneBeacon America Insurance Co. and certain of its reinsurers over reinsured asbestos claims. The reinsurers filed a declaratory relief action, seeking to preclude OneBeacon’s claims based on an adverse ruling that OneBeacon received in a previous arbitration against a different reinsurer. The First Circuit affirmed the order dismissing the action and compelling arbitration, holding that the preclusive effect of a prior arbitration award is an arbitrable issue and not an issue for the court to determine.

The arbitration has concluded and an award in favor of OneBeacon has been reached and confirmed by the court. The award found that the phrase “same causative agency” in the governing multiple line reinsurance treaty permitted OneBeacon to accumulate claims of multiple insureds and cede losses as a single occurrence, notwithstanding a contrary finding of the previous adverse arbitration award. The panel also determined the procedure by which OneBeacon must apply its self-insured retention across multiple treaty years. OneBeacon America Insurance Co. v. National Casualty Co., Case No. 1:14-cv-12570 (USDC D. Mass. Aug. 21, 2014).

This post written by Michael Wolgin.

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COURT REJECTS MANIFEST DISREGARD OF LAW CLAIM

December 17, 2014 by Carlton Fields

A district court in Pennsylvania has denied a motion to vacate a prior arbitration award based on the arbitrator’s alleged manifest disregard of the law, and instead granted a motion to confirm the award in a case arising out of the termination of the claimant’s employment. The claimant, Mrs. Cartwright, contended that the arbitrators committed manifest disregard of the law when they dismissed her Title VII retaliation claim. The Court found that based on the evidence and testimony from the President and CEO the bank which had employed Mrs. Cartwright, Ms. Cartwright’s own efforts to hinder the company’s planned merger could well have been the reason for her firing. While the Court noted that evidence stood both for and against Ms. Cartwright’s claims, this fact did not mean “that particular claim was a ‘but for’ cause of her dismissal.”

Ms. Cartwright also contended that the arbitrators committed manifest disregard of the law when they awarded damages on her breach of contract claim but dismissed an additional fraud claim. The Court noted that fraud claims can be enmeshed with breach of contract claims. As both the fraud and breach of contract claims were based on the same set of facts, the arbitrators had a basis to bar the fraud claim. Cartwright v. Fidelity Bank, No. 2:12-cv-01502 (W.D.Pa. Sep. 24, 2014).

This post written by Matthew Burrows, a law clerk at Carlton Fields in Washington, DC.

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NLRB REAFFIRMS ITS D.R. HORTON DECISION, RULING THAT EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS REQUIRING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION ARE UNLAWFUL

December 16, 2014 by Carlton Fields

On February 16, 2012, we reported on the National Labor Relations Board’s D.R. Horton decision, which ruled that arbitration agreements that are signed as a condition of employment and preclude employees from bringing joint, class or collective claims over working conditions are unlawful. Subsequently, that opinion was rejected by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, on which we reported on December 19, 2013, and disagreed with by other courts. Notwithstanding these adverse court decisions, on October 28, 2014, the NLRB reaffirmed D.R. Horton, ruling that the arbitration agreements of Murphy Oil USA Inc., which barred employees from pursuing class actions, were unlawful. The majority held that Murphy Oil violated the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employees to arbitrate employment claims on an individual basis, and by seeking to enforce its agreements in court after the employee filed a Fair Labor Standards Act suit. While the dissent accused the NLRB of ignoring “clear instructions” from the U.S. Supreme Court about the interpretation of the NLRA and the FAA, the majority disagreed, although it acknowledged that its opinion was likely not “the last word on the subject.” Murphy Oil USA, Inc., Case No. 10-CA-038804 (N.L.R.B. Oct. 28, 2014).

This post written by Michael Wolgin.

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INSURANCE CARRIER BATTLES REINSURER FOR EXPENSES IN ADDITION TO LOSSES

December 15, 2014 by Carlton Fields

On December 4, 2014, the Second Circuit addressed whether a facultative reinsurance certificate (“certificate”) covering an umbrella policy obligates a reinsurer to indemnify expense payments in addition to losses. The Court found the certificate ambiguous as to whether the reinsurer’s reimbursement liability included expense payments and consequently remanded and vacated the instant action back to the Northern District of New York.

Utica Mutual Insurance Company (“Utica”) issued an umbrella policy to Goulds Pumps Inc. (“Goulds”), exposing the carrier to significant payment obligations stemming from asbestos claims against Goulds. As reinsurer, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. (“Munich”) paid out $5 million dollars, the limit under the certificate. Utica filed suit for additional unpaid and future expense payments associated with the Goulds’ policy. The trial court granted summary judgment for Munich reasoning that the certificate’s $5 million limit of liability applied to expenses and therefore Munich’s obligation for reimbursement had been met.

Distinguishing prior case law that found certificates “unambiguously expense-inclusive,” the Second Circuit found this certificate ambiguous as to expense-inclusion. They reasoned that Munich’s obligations to Utica for “losses or damages” to the liability limit on the certificate could be construed as specifically excluding expenses. The Court also noted that “settlement payments,” while not expressly included in the liability limit, were considered part of the calculation. The Court remanded the action to allow the trial court to interpret the certificate’s inclusion or exclusion of expenses. Utica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Munich Reins. Am. Inc., No. 13-4170-cv (2d Cir. Dec. 4, 2014).

This post written by Matthew Burrows, a law clerk at Carlton Fields in Washington, DC.

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