Court Must Determine Arbitrability of Applied Underwriters Case, Neb. High Court Says

OMAHA, Neb. — A court must determine whether a dispute involving Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co. must be arbitrated because the plaintiff is challenging a reinsurance participation agreement’s arbitration clause, which delegates questions of arbitrability to an arbitrator, the Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled.

In an April 6 opinion, the court further held that the RPA is not a “reinsurance contract,” and is therefore subject to a Nebraska statute barring arbitration of “any agreement concerning or relating to an insurance policy.”

In 2012, clothing manufacturers Citizens of Humanity LLC and CM Laundry (“Citizens,” collectively) bought a workers’ compensation insurance …