Judge Bars Trustmark, Hancock from Proceeding Before Arbitrator

CHICAGO - Trustmark Insurance Co. and John Hancock Life Insurance Co. are enjoined from arbitrating a reinsurance contract dispute before a panel that includes Mark S. Gurevitz as a party arbitrator because he breached the parties' confidentiality agreement, a federal judge has ruled. Trustmark Insurance Co. v. John Hancock Life Insurance Co., No. 09-3959 (N.D. Ill.).

In a Jan. 21 order, Judge James B. Zagel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled Jan. 21 that Gurevitz is not a "disinterested" party because he served in a previous arbitration between the parties and considered issues that …