Reinsurance Agreements Do Not Establish Agency Liability, Calif. Court Affirms

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court has upheld the dismissal of an action against the affiliates of XL Specialty Insurance Co., ruling the plaintiffs failed to establish an agency theory of liability by pointing to certain quota share reinsurance agreements.

In a May 1 opinion, the California Court of Appeal, 2nd District, noted that none of the defendant affiliates were a party to any of the quota agreements or a member of the pools that are the subject of those agreements.

Stanley and Gail Hollander owned fine art by the German artist Martin Kippenberger. In January 2006, three of …