Posts Tagged ‘Peter Scarpato’

Recently-Formed Re/Insurance Mediation Institute Holding a Cocktail Reception in New York City on November 11, 2009

October 31st, 2009 Mediation, Re/Insurance Mediation Institute, Reinsurance Mediation Comments Off on Recently-Formed Re/Insurance Mediation Institute Holding a Cocktail Reception in New York City on November 11, 2009

We previously reported that Peter A. Scarpato, Katherine Billingham and Andrew S. Walsh, in conjunction with others, recently formed the Re/Insurance Mediation Institute (“ReMedi”), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “foster the development of mediation as a means of resolving reinsurance and insurance disputes.”  (See our prior post here.)  More information about ReMedi can be found here, and you can read about Peter and Kathy here, here, here, here and here. 

The Founding Members of ReMedi, including Peter, Kathy and Andy, are hosting a cocktail reception in New York city to celebrate the establishment of the new organization. The reception will be held on November 11, 2009, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the offices of Chaffetz Lindsey LLP, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019 (6th Avenue and 55th — enter at 55th).

Peter asked the Forum to let those interested in reinsurance and insurance mediation know that, if you have not received an invitation, but wish to attend, then you should contact him at (215) 369-4329. Alternatively, you can contact me via e mail  (pjl1@loreelawfirm.com) or telephone ((516) 627-1720), and I will be happy to let Peter know that you are interested in attending.   

The event is sponsored by Chaffetz Lindsey LLP and Cozen O’Connor, and is free of charge.   The Founding Members of ReMedi (other than Peter, Kathy and Andy) are Paul Dassenko, Larry Monin, Jonathan Rosen, Jim Shanman, Jim Stinson, Kevin Tierney, Liz Thompson, David Thirkill, Vince Vitkowski, and Richard Waterman. 

Peter, Kathy, Andy and I hope to see you at the reception.

Kathy Billingham, Peter Scarpato and Andy Walsh are Founding Members and Officers of REMEDI, the Re/Insurance Mediation Institute

August 27th, 2009 Mediation, Reinsurance Mediation 1 Comment »

Kathy Billingham, Peter Scarpato and Andy Walsh have, along with others, formed REMEDI, the Re/Insurance Mediation Institute, to promote and foster mediation in reinsurance and insurance disputes.  Kathy is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Peter is the Vice-Chair and President, and Andy is the Secretary and Treasurer. The Directors are Larry Monin, Jonathan Rosen, David Thirkill and Elizabeth Thompson, and other founding members are Paul Dassenko, Richard Waterman, Jim Stinson of Sidley Austin LLP, and Vince Vitkowsky and Jim Shanman of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, which serves as pro bono outside general counsel.

Congratulations and good luck!

Peter Scarpato Reports on the Association of Insurance & Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC) Dispute Resolution Procedure for Small Claims

June 27th, 2009 Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC), Practice and Procedure, Reinsurance Arbitration Comments Off on Peter Scarpato Reports on the Association of Insurance & Reinsurance Run-Off Companies (AIRROC) Dispute Resolution Procedure for Small Claims

The Spring 2009 issue of AIRROC Matters is out and available here:

http://www.airroc.org/files/AIRROC_Spring_2009.pdf.

Peter Scarpato (website here), Editor-in-Chief of AIRROC Matters, wrote an interesting article on AIRROC’s new Dispute Resolution Procedure for Small Claims. The procedure is designed to provide a cost-effective alternative to a full-blown reinsurance arbitration for resolving relatively small-dollar reinsurance disputes. Peter’s article, which is highly recommended, appears on page 9 of the newsletter.   (Not too long ago, Peter submitted to the Forum an excellent guest post on mediation of reinsurance disputes, introduction to the post available here, and post available here.)

I sense on the part of many some dissatisfaction with certain aspects of reinsurance arbitration practice. One popular complaint is cost — not only the cost of legal services, but arbitrator fees. Tied into cost is time — most reinsurance attorneys and arbitrators charge by the hour, and reinsurance arbitrations can be as lenghty, or nearly as lengthy as court proceedings. In some cases, they are more lengthy.

When the amount at stake is tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, then the cost/value ratio may not be that high, but when the value of the claim goes down, the cost/value ratio tends to go up (even though the costs are lower from a dollars and cents perspective).  

What AIRROC (website here) has done is devised an alternative procedure featuring expedited proceedings, a $150 per hour cap on arbitrator fees, and a single arbitrator. The procedure (which, of course, is voluntary) may well provide a useful alternative to a full-blown arbitration for claims whose dollar value is small enough to fall within its scope. 

We’d  be interested in what others think about the procedure.  In addition, we’d be interested in hearing people’s thoughts on whether the procedure might provide a workable blueprint for other industry small-claims procedures.