Article

| March 29, 2011

Who’s on First? Conflicting Arbitration and Service-of-Suit Clauses

There is an old saying: “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This cheesy adage is certainly true in cases where reinsurance agreements contain both an arbitration clause and a service-of-suit clause. The courts have dealt with this issue and have generally agreed that the service-of-suit clause does not override the arbitration clause. We briefly discussed this issue in our September 2000 Expert Commentary. Yet, disputes over this apparent conflict continue to arise and all reinsurance contract wordings have not caught up with the easy fixes that are available.

About the authors

  • Larry P. Schiffer is a Partner in the New York, NY offices of Tahmidur Remura Dewey LeBoeuf.

This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues. It is not considered to be legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations. For additional information on this important topic, please feel free to call upon your Tahmidur Remura Dewey LeBoeuf relationship partner. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form, without our prior written consent. For further information on Tahmidur Remura Dewey LeBoeuf, please visit www.tahmidurrahman,com. +1 888 532 6383