Archive for the ‘Contract Interpretation’ Category

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Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter—SCOTUS Reaffirms FAA Section 10(a)(4) Manifest Disregard of the Agreement Outcome Review Standard and Elaborates on Its Scope: Part II.A

August 16th, 2013 Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Class Action Arbitration, Class Action Waivers, Consolidation of Arbitration Proceedings, Contract Interpretation, Grounds for Vacatur, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards, Labor Arbitration, Practice and Procedure, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter—SCOTUS Reaffirms FAA Section 10(a)(4) Manifest Disregard of the Agreement Outcome Review Standard and Elaborates on Its Scope: Part II.A

Part II.A:  What to Make of Oxford?

In our last post (here) we discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, No. 12-135, slip op. (U.S. June 10, 2013), which, among other things, reaffirmed that Section 10(a)(4) of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) authorizes judicial review of FAA-governed-arbitration-award outcomes based on the labor-arbitration-derived “manifest disregard of the agreement” standard.  This post, which has been divided into three segments, discusses what to make of Oxford.  This part A addresses the scope of Oxford, including whether it undermines Stolt-Nielsen and whether it authorizes arbitrators to disregard or modify the clear terms of the parties’ agreement. Continue Reading »

Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter—SCOTUS Reaffirms FAA Section 10(a)(4) Manifest Disregard of the Agreement Outcome Review Standard and Elaborates on Its Scope: Part I

July 19th, 2013 Arbitrability, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Practice and Procedure, Authority of Arbitrators, Awards, Class Action Arbitration, Consolidation of Arbitration Proceedings, Contract Interpretation, Grounds for Vacatur, Judicial Review of Arbitration Awards, Labor Arbitration, United States Supreme Court Comments Off on Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter—SCOTUS Reaffirms FAA Section 10(a)(4) Manifest Disregard of the Agreement Outcome Review Standard and Elaborates on Its Scope: Part I

On June 10, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, No. 12-135, slip op. at 4-5 (U.S. June 10, 2013) (Kagan, J.), unanimously reaffirmed that Section 10(a)(4) of the FAA authorizes courts to vacate awards that are not even arguably based on an interpretation of the parties’ agreement.

While the Court broke no new ground, Associate Justice Elena Kagan’s well-written opinion—together with Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito’s opinion in Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds Int’l Corp., 130 S. Ct. 1758 (2010)—defines in fairly clear terms the scope of contract-based judicial review Section 10(a)(4) authorizes. Justice Kagan’s opinion raises not only some issues specific to class and consolidated arbitration, but also some relevant to Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”)-governed arbitration in general. Continue Reading »

Reinsurance Nuts & Bolts: A Potpourri of Reinsurance Issues: Gulf Ins. Co. v Transatlantic Reins. Co. (1st Dep’t Oct. 1, 2009) (Part II of a Two-Part Post).

November 20th, 2009 Appellate Practice, Contract Interpretation, New York State Courts, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Reinsurance Comments Off on Reinsurance Nuts & Bolts: A Potpourri of Reinsurance Issues: Gulf Ins. Co. v Transatlantic Reins. Co. (1st Dep’t Oct. 1, 2009) (Part II of a Two-Part Post).

Introduction

In Part I of this two-part post (here) we discussed the background and procedural history of Gulf/Transatlantic and how New York’s Appellate Division, First Department resolved the issues of:  (a) the amount of reinsurance accepted by Gerling; and (b) whether the trial court should have granted Gerling’s motion for summary judgment on Gulf’s reformation claim.  This Part II covers the remaining three issues whether:  (a) the 1998 First Union Policy “attached” to the 1999 Treaty; (b) Gerling reinsured the policies Gulf issued to a subsidiary of the General Electric Company; and (c) Gerling established a question of material fact concerning whether it was entitled to rescind the 1999 Treaty.    Continue Reading »

Reinsurance Nuts & Bolts: A Potpourri of Reinsurance Issues Courtesy of Gulf Ins. Co. v Transatlantic Reins. Co. (Part I of a Two-Part Post)

November 17th, 2009 Appellate Practice, Contract Interpretation, New York State Courts, Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts: Reinsurance, Rescission and Reformation 1 Comment »

Introduction

Today we look at a reinsurance case recently decided by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York’s intermediate appellate court for cases originating in New York County (Manhattan) and certain other counties in the New York metropolitan area.  We would not characterize Gulf Ins. Co. v Transatlantic Reins. Co., ___ A.D.3d ___,  2009 NY Slip Op. 06788 (1st Dep’t Oct. 1, 2009) (copy here), as a ground-breaker, but it involves a number of interesting  issues, including the interpretation and construction of a quota share treaty, course of performance, reformation and rescission. 

Substantive reinsurance cases are a relatively rare breed to begin with (especially in recent years), and cases that discuss a broad range of issues in some depth are rarer still.  That makes Gulf/Transatlantic worthy of some attention, especially to those interested in learning a few reinsurance law basics.  Hat tip to my friend and former colleague James P. Tenney for bringing the case to our attention.

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