Plaintiff Southwestern Electric Power Company brought suit in Louisiana state court against a number of its insurers, seeking indemnity for damaged heat steam generators. The defendant insurers removed the case to federal court pursuant to the Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Plaintiff moved to remand, arguing that the defendants waived their right to removal (1) by written waiver from defense counsel; and (2) by litigating in state court (a motion to stay and compel arbitration was also pending). The court disagreed and denied the remand, noting (1) the purported written waiver was not unequivocal and unambiguous; and (2) the Convention allows removal any time before trial, thus contemplating the possibility of state court litigation before removal. Southwestern Electric Power Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, Case No. 12-2065 (USDC W.D. La. Nov. 19, 2012).
This post written by John Pitblado.