Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 6, 2025
Docket25A-PL-01067
StatusPublished

This text of Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company, (Ind. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

FILED Nov 06 2025, 9:02 am

CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. and Tower Bridge International Services, L.P., Appellants-Plaintiffs

v.

Federal Insurance Company, U.S. Specialty Insurance Company, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, Appellees-Defendants

November 6, 2025 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-PL-1067 Appeal from the Marion Superior Court The Honorable Christina R. Klineman, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 49D01-2408-PL-39657

Opinion by Judge Bailey Judges Tavitas and Kenworthy concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-1067 | November 6, 2025 Page 1 of 19 Bailey, Judge.

Case Summary [1] Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. (“Cantor Fitzgerald”) and Tower Bridge International

Services, L.P. (“Tower Bridge”) (collectively, “Cantor”) filed a complaint

against Federal Insurance Company (“Federal”). Cantor also named as

defendants U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (“U.S. Specialty”), Liberty

Mutual Insurance Company (“Liberty Mutual”), and National Union Fire

Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA (“National Union”) (collectively, “the

Nonresident Defendants”). The Nonresident Defendants filed a joint motion to

dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, which motion the trial

court granted. Cantor now appeals. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] The following facts are taken from Cantor’s complaint. Cantor Fitzgerald is a

limited partnership organized under the laws of Delaware and with a principal

place of business in New York. Tower Bridge is a limited partnership organized

under the laws of England, with a principal place of business in London.

[3] Federal is an insurance company organized under the laws of Indiana with its

principal place of business in New Jersey. U.S. Specialty is an insurance

company organized under the laws of Texas with a principal place of business

in Texas. Liberty Mutual is organized under the laws of Massachusetts, with a

principal place of business there. And National Union is organized under the

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-1067 | November 6, 2025 Page 2 of 19 laws of Pennsylvania, with its principal place of business in New York. All four

insurance companies are authorized to conduct insurance business in Indiana.

[4] Federal and the Nonresident Defendants (collectively, “the Defendants”) issued

a bond to Cantor Fitzgerald, which covered Tower Bridge among several other

entities, 1 for the period of April 27, 2020, to April 27, 2021. The bond had a

single-loss limit of $25 million. The bond covered “[l]oss resulting directly from

dishonest or fraudulent acts committed by an Employee acting alone or in

collusion with others.” Appellants’ App. Vol. 2 at 68. Each of the Defendants

agreed to underwrite a portion of the bond, with Federal underwriting $10

million, and the Nonresident Defendants each underwriting $5 million.

[5] According to Cantor, a former employee of Tower Bridge and a former

employee of a partner group “perpetrated a substantial fraud” against Cantor

and diverted more than $30 million from Cantor to themselves. Id. at 29. On

December 21, 2020, Cantor notified the Defendants about a potential claim

under the bond. Ultimately, in May 2024, the Defendants declined to pay the

full amount of the claim.

[6] Cantor filed a complaint against the Defendants for breach of contract, unjust

enrichment, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and promissory

estoppel, and Cantor sought declaratory judgments. Cantor alleged that the

1 Tower Bridge is covered under the bond because it is more than fifty percent owned by Cantor Fitzgerald or a partner group.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-1067 | November 6, 2025 Page 3 of 19 court had personal jurisdiction in this action because Federal “is incorporated

in Indiana,” the Defendants are “authorized to conduct business in Indiana,”

and the Defendants “issued or delivered contracts of insurance to residents of

Indiana[.]” Id. at 26. Cantor also alleged that “this action concerns a contract

between and among” Federal, “a resident of Indiana”; Cantor; and the

Nonresident Defendants. Id. As such, Cantor asserted that the court had

personal jurisdiction over the Defendants pursuant to Indiana Code Section 27-

1-17-4(7) (the “Admittance Statute”), which requires a foreign insurance

company to file an application with the Indiana Department of Insurance and

execute a power of attorney appointing an agent for service of process.

[7] The Nonresident Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal

jurisdiction pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 12(B)(2). They contended that they

“have no connection to Indiana, other than the unremarkable fact that they are

licensed to do business here.” Appellants’ App. Vol. 2 at 117. And the

Nonresident Defendants alleged that, while the Admittance Statute “brings

insurance companies within the jurisdiction of the state for actions arising out

of contracts made within the state or with residents of the state,” the contract

here “was made in New York, not Indiana, and neither Plaintiff resides in

Indiana.” Id. at 117-18. The Nonresident Defendants also contended that there

was no specific jurisdiction under the federal Due Process Clause because there

were no minimum contacts with Indiana. Specifically, the Nonresident

Defendants maintained that none of them are citizens of, headquartered in, or

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-1067 | November 6, 2025 Page 4 of 19 have their principal place of business in Indiana and the bond was not issued or

entered into in Indiana but in New York.

[8] Cantor filed a brief in opposition to the motion to dismiss and alleged that the

Nonresident Defendants “consented to personal jurisdiction in Indiana” under

the Admittance Statute. Id. at 141. Cantor argued that this dispute involves an

action arising out of a contract made with a resident of Indiana because

Federal, an Indiana resident, “is a party to the contract on which this claim is

based.” Id. at 143. Cantor then argued that, Admittance Statute aside, specific

jurisdiction exists because the Nonresident Defendants “decided to band

together with an Indiana insurer[,]” which “created ongoing obligations to a

resident of this state” and amounted to the necessary “minimum contacts”

required for personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause. Id. at 147. In

the alternative, Cantor asked for “jurisdictional discovery.” Id. at 150.

[9] Following a hearing at which the parties presented oral argument, the trial court

issued its order. As for Cantor’s statutory argument, the court determined that

the “mere existence of the small connection to the state that is Federal’s

incorporation is insufficient to extend personal jurisdiction pursuant to” the

Admittance Statute. Id. at 17. As such, the court found that “Indiana Code § 27-

1-17-4(7) does not confer jurisdiction over” the Nonresident Defendants. Id.

Regarding Cantor’s common-law argument, the court found that “the only

contact with the out of state party is the fact that Federal is incorporated in

Indiana. Plaintiffs have not alleged any other contacts with the state of Indiana

that would lend credence to the finding of specific jurisdiction.” Id. at 18-19.

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Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cantor-fitzgerald-lp-v-us-specialty-insurance-company-indctapp-2025.