A federal district court consolidated several reinsurance cases to be heard before an arbitration panel already formed to hear a dispute between the parties, as well as a corporation which the parties agreed to keep confidential. The court determined that, to avoid duplicative litigation and conserve litigation, all three actions could be consolidated and resolved through arbitration. Further, because all three actions arose from the same set of operative facts the arbitration panel already in existence could determine the correct reading of the arbitration agreements contained in each reinsurance agreement. The panel would first determine if each dispute should be heard by an independent panel. The court stayed the actions pending resolution by the existing arbitration panel. Arrowood Indemnity Co. v. Harper Insurance Co., No. 12-2 (USDC W.D.N.C. Jan. 19, 2012).
This post written by John Black.
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