N.Y. Federal Judge Orders Utica and Clearwater to Mediate Reinsurance Dispute

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A New York federal magistrate judge has ordered confidential mediation of a $1 million reinsurance dispute between Utica Mutual Insurance Co. and Clearwater Insurance Co. involving Utica’s settlement of underlying asbestos claims levied against Goulds Pumps Inc.

On Jan. 8, Magistrate Judge Therese Wiley Dancks of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ordered the parties to complete the mediation within four months.

Between 1978 and 1982, Utica issued four consecutive umbrella liability policies to Goulds Pumps that were in effect from Jan. 1, 1978, to Jan. 1, 1982. The policies each provided …