Chief Judge Christina Reiss rejected all three arguments. On partiality, she found the reinsurers had effectively waived the objection – the prior testimony was publicly available, they never requested the arbitrator’s CV before selecting him, and they ultimately told him there were no issues with his continued service. On the scope of authority question, the court noted that the arbitration clause gave the arbitrator wide discretion, and his middle-ground approach addressed the substance of both parties’ positions. On the manifest disregard claim, the court pointed out that the arbitrator was expressly empowered to set aside strict legal rules in favor of industry custom, and that New York law on the question of implied “follow the settlements” obligations remained unsettled.
