The FDIC receiver of a bank served subpoenas on reinsurers, seeking information as to how the cedent insurer interpreted certain ambiguous terms in the underlying liability insurance policy. The insurer and reinsurer objected to the subpoenas, and the receiver filed an action in the reinsurer’s district to compel responses. Rather than ruling on the objections, the court elected to transfer the matter to the court in which the underlying litigation was pending. The transferor court relied on considerations of judicial efficiency and comity, explaining that it was not in a position to resolve arguments over the transferee court’s intentions with respect to the scope of permitted discovery, and that differences in the districts’ respective case law on the relevance of reinsurance information presented a risk of conflicting discovery rulings. The court also noted that recent revisions to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure governing subpoenas further supported transfer of the action. FDIC v. Everest Reinsurance Holdings, Inc., Case No. 1:13-mc-00381 (USDC S.D.N.Y. January 23, 2014).
This post written by Michael Wolgin.
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