Insured Estopped from Challenging RPA’s Arbitration Provision, N.Y. Judge Rules

NEW YORK — An insured is judicially estopped from opposing arbitration of a workers’ compensation insurance dispute because it argued in favor of arbitration in another, related Nebraska action that involved the same reinsurance participation agreement between the parties.

On Aug. 23, Judge Julianne Capetola of the Nassau County Superior Court explained that the issue of whether the RPA is valid, whether it is enforceable as against agents and/or subsidiaries of the signatory, and whether the arbitration clause is barred by controlling law has already been litigated in Nebraska. As such, the doctrine of judicial estoppel applies, the judge ruled.