The court applied a two-part “intertwined-ness test” to determine whether an arbitration agreement allowed a non-signatory to invoke equitable estoppel to compel arbitration. The first prong of the test examines whether the claims advanced by the signatory to the arbitration agreement arise under the same subject matter of the agreement. The second prong asks whether the non-signatory has a “close relationship” to a signatory of the agreement.
The first prong is heavily fact dependent. Here, the court held it was met because the “bulk of Plaintiffs’ claims … [arose] from the formation, execution, and existence of the Reinsurance Agreements,” which contained the arbitration agreement. The court was also influenced by the fact that the plaintiffs simultaneously filed a complaint in court and a demand for arbitration, both of which provided nearly identical factual allegations, alleged injuries, and theories of the case.
The second prong “is centered on the role of the non-signatory defendants when the misconduct occurred.” The court noted that an agency relationship between the non-signatory and a signatory may be sufficient to permit the non-signatory to compel arbitration. The fact that the plaintiffs also connected the non-signatory defendants to a signatory through conspiracy allegations clinched the matter for the court. The defendants had the requisite “close relationship” with a signatory to allow them to compel arbitration. Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company v. Feuer, Case No. 16-Civ-7646 (USDC S.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2018).
This post written by Benjamin E. Stearns.
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