TIG Insurance Company v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 3, 2025
Docket7:21-cv-08975
StatusUnknown

This text of TIG Insurance Company v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation (TIG Insurance Company v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TIG Insurance Company v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation, (S.D.N.Y. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK USDC SDNY TIG INSURANCE COMPANY, ewe , as successor to RANGER INSURANCE COMPANY, and BOC RILED ASSOCIATED ELECTRIC AND GAS 3370095 INSURANCE SERVICES LIMITED, DATE RILED! _“"“"- __ Plaintiffs, 21-cv-8975 (NSR) -against- OPINION & ORDER SWISS REINSURANCE AMERICA CORPORATION F/K/A NORTH AMERICAN REINSURANCE CORPORATION, Defendant.

NELSON S. ROMAN, United States District Judge: Plaintiffs TIG Insurance Company (“TIG”), as successor to Ranger Insurance Company (“Ranger”), and Associated Electric and Gas Insurance Services Limited (“AEGIS”) initiated this action on November 1, 2021, against Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation (“SRA”), formerly known as North American Reinsurance Corporation (“NAR”), bringing forth a claim for breach of contract, which the Court now addresses. Presently before the Court are the Plaintiffs’ and Defendant’s Motions for Summary Judgment pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 56. For the following reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES Defendant’s motion for summary judgment. BACKGROUND Plaintiffs and Defendant submitted briefs, statements of material fact pursuant to Local Rule 56.1, respective counter statements of material fact, and the record and exhibits from discovery in the instant proceeding, which reflect the following factual background.

TIG, as Ranger’s successor, and SRA are parties to six certificates of facultative reinsurance (“Certificates”). (Plaintiffs’ Rule 56.1 Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“Pltfs.’ 56.1”) ¶ 1, ECF No. 91.) Each of the Certificates represent a contract under which SRA reinsures Ranger’s insurance liability assumed under the Ranger insurance policy listed on the face of the

Certificate. (Id. ¶ 2.) There are six Ranger policies (the “Ranger Policies”) for which Ranger is reinsured by SRA, wherein Ranger is insuring Duke Power Company (“Duke Power”) and Carolina Power & Light Company (“CP&L”) (together with Duke Power, “Duke”) across the period October 31, 1982, to October 31, 1985. (Id. ¶ 3.) These policies were issued as part of a fronting arrangement between Ranger and AEGIS (Plaintiffs’ Additional Statement of Facts (“Pltfs.’ ASF”) ¶ 9, ECF 94.) This fronting arrangement was necessary because AEGIS was not a licensed insurer in North Carolina and could not directly issue insurance policies for companies, such as Duke, operating therein. (Defendant’s Rule 56.1 Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“Def.’s 56.1”) ¶ 13, ECF No. 89.) Ranger, however, was admitted in North Carolina, and could therefore issue insurance policies for Duke. (Pltfs.’ ASF ¶

8.) Thus, Ranger issued the aforementioned six insurance policies across the October 31, 1982, to October 31, 1985 period. (Id. ¶ 41.) Each Certificate contains language that states: “[SRA] DOES HEREBY REINSURE [TIG] (herein called the COMPANY) with respect to the COMPANY’S policy hereinafter described, in consideration of the payment of the premium.” (Pltfs.’ 56.1 ¶ 23.) The “COMPANY’s policy” referenced in each of the six Certificates was the given applicable policy of the six Ranger Policies. (Id. ¶ 3.) Over the life of the Ranger Policies, spanning decades, AEGIS handled all claims and paid all owed claims. (Def.’s 56.1 ¶ 39.) Ranger and, by succession, TIG never paid a single claim under the Ranger Policies. (Id. ¶ 41.) Decades later after the Certificates’ execution, Duke notified AEGIS and TIG of potential

liability to remediate environmental damage caused by coal ash at power plants in North Carolina. (Def.’s 56.1 ¶ 48.) Duke therefore requested that AEGIS produce copies of any insurance policies issued to Duke in the years preceding 1987, specifically naming the Ranger Policies. (Id. ¶ 49.) In March 2017, Duke commenced its insurance coverage action (the “coal ash litigation”) against AEGIS, TIG, and other insurers in North Carolina state court to recover under various insurance policies, including the Ranger Policies. (Id. ¶ 56.) TIG and AEGIS entered into a written agreement dated May 26, 2017, wherein TIG agreed that AEGIS would control responding to the coal ash litigation. (Id. ¶ 58.) Within the agreement, AEGIS “represent[ed] and acknowledge[d] that it [was] responsible for 100% of past and future lost (including any extra contractual loss) and defense costs payable under the Ranger Policies.” (Id. ¶ 59.)

Duke’s coal ash litigation claims specific to the Ranger Policies were settled on or about August 3, 2021. (Id. ¶ 63.) The settlement released any potential claims arising from the Ranger Policies. (Pltfs.’ 56.1 ¶ 91.) AEGIS paid the entire settlement amount. (Id. ¶ 97.) AEGIS posted a case reserve for the entire amount of the settlement payment following the settlement with Duke. (Def.’s 56.1 ¶ 70.) TIG did not post such a reserve. (Id. ¶ 69.) Subsequently, AEGIS sent SRA a bill seeking 57% of the settlement amount. (Pltfs.’ ¶ 100.) TIG represents that such a percentage constitutes the settlement payment portion TIG was responsible for, and, by extension, the portion SRA, as the reinsurer of the Ranger Policies, was due to pay. (Id. ¶ 99.) SRA disagrees with owing such an obligation and, to date, SRA has refused to remit any payment towards the portion of the settlement amount it purportedly owes AEGIS. (Id. ¶ 102.) Based on the foregoing, Plaintiffs bring a claim for breach of contract. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 2, 2021, Plaintiffs commenced this action against the Defendant in their Complaint (“Compl.”). (ECF No. 1.) On March 29, 2024, Defendant filed its motion for summary judgment, along with its memorandum of law in support. (ECF Nos. 83, 84.) Likewise, Plaintiffs filed their motion for summary judgment, along with their memorandum of law in support. (ECF Nos. 87, 88.) Plaintiffs filed their memorandum of law in opposition to Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and Defendant filed its opposition to Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. (ECF Nos. 97, 99.) Plaintiffs filed their reply in further support of their motion for summary judgment, and Defendant filed its reply in further support of its motion for summary judgment. (ECF Nos. 107, 112.) Finally, Plaintiffs filed their Rule 56.1 Statement (ECF No. 91), and Defendant filed its Rule 56.1 Statement (ECF No. 89), and Plaintiffs and Defendant filed

respective Counter Statements (ECF Nos. 94, 100.) LEGAL STANDARD A. Rule 56 Pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party bears the initial burden of pointing to evidence in the record, including depositions, documents, affidavits, or declarations “which it believes demonstrate[s] the absence of a genuine issue of material fact,” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). The moving party may support an assertion that there is no genuine dispute of a particular fact by “showing ... that [the] adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(B).

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Bluebook (online)
TIG Insurance Company v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tig-insurance-company-v-swiss-reinsurance-america-corporation-nysd-2025.