Parties in N.J. Reinsurance Dispute Ordered to Brief Applicable Legal Standard for Discovery Motion

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge has administratively terminated plaintiff insurers’ motion to compel certain documents from The North River Insurance Co. and United States Fire Insurance Co. in a reinsurance action involving a settlement of asbestos and silica claims asserted against Mine Safety Appliances Co. (MSA).

In a Dec. 29 order, Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III explained that the parties failed to “address the legal standard they contend should be applied” to the motion and “provide conflicting and unexplained assertions as to the governing law.”

Plaintiffs state only in a footnote that “the Reinsurance …