Originally from:

Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 2, No. 1

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ARTICLES

Gulf Guaranty Life Insurance Co. v. Connecticut General Life
Insurance Co.: The Fifth Circuit Stays Out of the Details of
Arbitration
By Nahom Gebre

I. OVERVIEW
Gulf Guaranty Life Insurance Company (Gulf Guaranty) entered
into a contract with Connecticut General Life Insurance Company
(Connecticut General), a reinsurance company in 1981.1 Gulf Guaranty
sought reimbursement from Connecticut General on a reinsurance policy,
and unable to agree on an amount, Gulf Guaranty sued both Connecticut
General and their agent Cigna Reinsurance Company (Cigna) in 1996 in
Mississippi state court, charging breach of contract and the wrongful
placement of conditions on payment.2 The reinsurance contract
contained an arbitration provision and after removing the suit to federal
court, the defendants successfully petitioned the court to stay all
proceedings pending arbitration.3 After Gulf Guaranty and the
defendants each selected their arbitrator of choice, there was a dispute
over the selection of the third arbitrator by the two arbitrators, and Gulf
Guaranty filed a second lawsuit in Mississippi state court on August 23,
2000.4 This second lawsuit charged that the defendants had breached the
arbitration agreement, waived their right to arbitrate, and conspired with