Chief Justice Christina Rees rejected all three arguments. On bias, she found that the reinsurers had effectively waived the objection – the prior testimony was publicly available, they never requested the arbitrator’s CV before selecting him, and they ultimately told him there was no problem with his continued service. On the scope of the jurisdictional question, the court said that the arbitration clause gave wide discretion to the arbitrator, and its middle-of-the-road approach addressed the essence of both parties’ positions. On the manifest disregard claim, the Court pointed out that the arbitrator was explicitly given authority to set aside strict legal rules in favor of industry customs, and New York law remained unsettled on the question of implied “follow settlements” obligations.
Court confirms arbitration award in reinsurance “adhere to agreement” fight & more related News Here
