Federal Court Has No Jurisdiction Over Reinsurer, Judge Rules

BOSTON - A Finnish reinsurer is not subject to personal jurisdiction in Massachusetts because its cedent was not merely acting as its agent, but rather had the authority to make claims decisions, a federal judge has ruled. Neles-Jamesbury Inc. v. Pohjola Insurance Co. Ltd., No. 10-40055 (D. Mass.).

On Dec. 7, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts further ruled that the reinsurer cannot be held liable under the Massachusetts long-arm statute because it reinsured the risk rather than directly issuing the policy to the reinsured.

In 1988, Metso Oy, a Finnish …