Arbitration clauses in reinsurance contracts typically recognize either expressly or impliedly that an arbitration proceeding has a beginning and an end. The process usually begins with a demand for arbitration and the selection of an arbitration panel, and ends with the arbitrators holding a hearing on the merits and issuing a final award. At that point the parties generally expect that the arbitrators will step down, and that any future dispute will be the subject of a new arbitration proceeding, perhaps with a different panel. Continue Reading »
Posts Tagged ‘Peter A. Scarpato’
Guest Post — Mediating Reinsurance Disputes: A Case Study
May 14th, 2009 Guest Posts, Mediation, Reinsurance Mediation 2 Comments »Introduction
I am very pleased that Phil Loree Jr. asked me to guest blog for the Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum. I have known Phil for quite some time and have worked with him on various matters over the years. Phil suggested that I write something about my experiences mediating reinsurance disputes. This guest post is a revised version of an article I published in the September 2006 edition of JTW News, a popular, U.K.-based reinsurance trade publication.
As the aggravation, expense and amount of time required to arbitrate or litigate escalate, parties to reinsurance disputes are beginning to opt either by contract or ad hoc agreement to mediate reinsurance disputes. For them, depending upon the case, less is more; that is, compared to arbitration or litigation, mediation is a less aggressive, less costly, less damaging and less divisive alternative to tip the balance of power and opportunity in both parties’ favor. A careful, experienced and patient mediator views disputes between parties, not as a battle, but as an opportunity to empower them to structure a resolution that best meets their respective short and long term needs.
Despite this trend, many still claim mediation is unnecessary, expensive and unproductive — complaints based mostly upon its non-binding nature and prior “bad” experiences with ineffective mediators. From my discussions with many satisfied client and lawyer participants and my own work mediating cases, I have found that parties and their counsel can and do benefit in many ways — even if no settlement immediately results — from mediating their reinsurance disputes before an effective mediator. Continue Reading »
Introducing Loree Reinsurance and Arbitration Law Forum Guest Blogger Peter A. Scarpato, Esq.
May 14th, 2009 General, Guest Posts, Mediation, Reinsurance Mediation 2 Comments »This week we are delighted and honored to feature Peter A. Scarpato, Esq. as a guest blogger on the Forum. I have known Peter since 1990, when he was the General Counsel of American Centennial Insurance Company in run-off, and I was an associate at Miller, Singer, Raives & Brandes, P.C. We have stayed in touch over the years and have worked together on matters where Peter was the key client contact, both at American Centennial, and later, at the American International Group.
Currently the President of Conflict Resolved, LLC, Peter is a full-time ADR professional who has extensive experience as an arbitrator, umpire, counsel, mediator and negotiator in hundreds of reinsurance and other commercial disputes, settlements and commutations. He is a run-off specialist for all forms of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance; warranty; surety; and various types of program business. He is an ARIAS-U.S. certified arbitrator and mediator who also holds ADR certifications or positions for FINRA Dispute Resolution (formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)); Executive Mediator Services; Reinsurance Association of America (RAA); Construction Dispute Resolution Services LLC; the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York; New York State Supreme Court – Commercial Division; and Case Closure, LLC. Continue Reading »
