Amended Arbitration Act Renders Arbitration Clauses Valid, Enforceable

DENVER - A 2008 amendment to the Oklahoma Uniform Arbitration Act is retroactive and renders the arbitration clauses in reinsurance contracts between General Reinsurance Corp. and Mid-Continent Casualty Co. valid and enforceable, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled. Mid-Continent Casualty Co. v. General Reinsurance Corp., No. 07-5050 (10th Cir.).

In a May 22 opinion, the appellate panel, led by Circuit Judge Stephanie K. Seymour, ruled that the amendment constitutes "specific legislative approval" as required by Oklahoma law.

GenRe and Mid-Continent executed two reinsurance contracts, the first in 1992 and the second in 2000. In September 2006, Mid-Continent …