Service of Suit Clause Mandates Remand of Liquidator’s Action Against Reinsurers, N.H. Federal Judge Rules

CONCORD, N.H. — A reinsurance contract’s service of suit clause mandates that all claim disputes must be tried in state court, a New Hampshire federal judge has ruled, and therefore a liquidator’s lawsuit initiated against the reinsurers must be remanded.

On June 16, Judge Joseph DiClerico Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire found that the clause is mandatory, rather than permissive, pursuant to case law.

New Hampshire insurance commissioner Roger A. Sevigny initiated this action against British Aviation Insurance Company Ltd. and The Marine Insurance Company Ltd. in the Merrimack County (N.H.) Superior Court …