Judge Allows NICO to Replace Party Arbitrator; Refuses to Disqualify Umpire Candidate

NEW YORK - A federal judge has denied a cedent's request to prohibit National Indemnity Co. from replacing its party-appointed arbitrator with Jonathan Rosen, ruling that it would not hamper the arbitration proceedings because the arbitration proceeding has not yet begun. IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A. v. National Indemnity Co., No. 11-1965 (S.D. N.Y.).

In the Nov. 29 order, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York also denied NICO's request to disqualify William Trutt as IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A.'s umpire candidate, ruling that NICO failed to show that Trutt is "under the control" of …