Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. v. Hammer

378 F. Supp. 3d 687
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 22, 2019
DocketNo. 18 CV 5642
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 378 F. Supp. 3d 687 (Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. v. Hammer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. v. Hammer, 378 F. Supp. 3d 687 (illinoised 2019).

Opinion

Manish S. Shah, United States District Judge

Alea Group Limited provided reinsurance to Legion Indemnity Company. Shortly after the terms of their agreements ended, Legion entered liquidation proceedings and the respondent (the Director of Insurance of the State of Illinois) was appointed as liquidator. Petitioner Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Limited bought Alea. Many years later, the Director sent Catalina an offer to settle an outstanding balance that she said had resulted from claims ceded under the original agreements between Alea and Legion. When Catalina refused to pay, the Director initiated arbitration, citing arbitration clauses in the old reinsurance agreements. Catalina filed counterclaims before the arbitrators for unpaid premiums and attorney's fees, and the panel ruled in Catalina's favor. Catalina then filed a petition to confirm *690the panel's award. The Director moves to dismiss.

I. Legal Standards

A complaint must contain a short and plain statement of factual allegations that plausibly suggest a right to relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 677-78, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). In ruling on a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), I must accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations, and draw reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Ezekiel v. Michel , 66 F.3d 894, 897 (7th Cir. 1995). I am not limited to the jurisdictional allegations of the complaint and may "view whatever evidence has been submitted on the issue to determine whether in fact subject matter jurisdiction exists." Capitol Leasing Co. v. F.D.I.C. , 999 F.2d 188, 191 (7th Cir. 1993). "At each stage of the jurisdictional analysis, the plaintiff bears the burden of proof." Glaser v. Wound Care Consultants, Inc. , 570 F.3d 907, 913 (7th Cir. 2009).

II. Facts

Alea Group Limited provided reinsurance to Legion Indemnity Company during the early 2000s. [25-2] at 3-4.1 Some of their reinsurance agreements required that certain disputes be arbitrated "in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the Uniform Arbitration Act as enacted in Pennsylvania." [22-3] at 28; 54-55; 73-74. Legion ceded claims to Alea pursuant to the agreements during the early 2000s, but Legion eventually stopped communicating with Alea. [25-2] at 4. Catalina (a Bermuda company with its principal place of business in the United Kingdom) bought Alea and assumed responsibility for the relevant reinsurance agreements in 2013. Id. at 2 n2.

As it turns out, Legion had run into financial trouble. It was placed into conservatorship in 2002 and entered liquidation proceedings in 2003. [25-1] at 3; [25-2] at 4; [19-2] § D. The Illinois Director of Insurance was appointed as liquidator shortly thereafter. Id. According to the Director, both before and during the liquidation proceedings, claims continued to cede to Catalina. [19] at 4. In 2014, the Director sent Catalina a commutation offer reflecting a balance owed of roughly $ 1 million. [25-2] at 4. According to Catalina, this was the first time they had received any communications regarding Alea's reinsurance contracts with Legion since 2003. Id. When Catalina declined to pay, the Director demanded arbitration. [25-1] at 4. Catalina counterclaimed in the arbitration proceedings for unpaid premiums and attorneys' fees and costs. [25-2] at 10.

The parties agreed to hold arbitration hearings in Chicago, id. n.11, and those hearings took place before a panel of arbitrators during the summer of 2018. [25] at 3, [25-3]. The panel ultimately awarded Catalina $ 76,602.63 in unpaid premiums and $ 437,501.04 in attorneys' fees and costs. [25] at 3-4.2 That amount was to be *691offset against future amounts that the Director might bill Catalina, or that might qualify for distribution in accordance with Illinois's liquidation statutes. [19] at 10-11 n.3. Catalina filed this petition to confirm the award, citing the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 9, and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 9 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. [1]. The Director filed a motion to dismiss or stay the petition, citing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), reverse preemption under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, and abstention under Burford v. Sun Oil Co. , 319 U.S. 315, 63 S.Ct. 1098, 87 L.Ed. 1424 (1943). [19].

III. Analysis

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction & Choice of Law

The Convention governs my review of the petition, not the Pennsylvania Uniform Arbitration Act. The arbitration clause dictated the rules and procedures that governed the arbitration proceeding-not my review of the arbitrator's award. See, e.g. , [22-3] at 28 ("the arbitration will be in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the Uniform Arbitration Act as enacted in Pennsylvania"); Generica Ltd. v. Pharm. Basics, Inc.

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Bluebook (online)
378 F. Supp. 3d 687, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/catalina-holdings-bermuda-ltd-v-hammer-illinoised-2019.