Arbitrator Must Determine Arbitrability of Dispute Related to Reinsurance Participation Agreement, 3rd Cir. Rules

PHILADELPHIA — An arbitrator must determine the arbitrability of a dispute involving a workers’ compensation reinsurance participation agreement, a federal appellate court has ruled, explaining that the RPA’s arbitration provision applies to “all disputes arising with respect to any provision of” the agreement and confers “binding and conclusive” authority on the arbitrator.

In an Oct. 25 precedential opinion, the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals further held that the arbitrator must resolve the question of whether the arbitration provision is valid under Nebraska law.

In 2008, South Jersey Sanitation Company Inc. entered into an RPA with Applied Underwriters Captive …