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USA Herald - This is the case of Friends of Young Audiences Charter Association v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London et al., in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Young Audiences Charter Schools is an art-integrated public charter school serving Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. In August 2022, the school sued the insurers in state court, requesting coverage for hurricane Ida's damage to its property in Louisiana and penalties under Louisiana law for bad faith.

Recently, a federal judge in Louisiana tossed out a group of 10 insurers' effort to compel the charter school into arbitration to resolve it's Hurricane Ida claims, finding the case was already bound by the court’s mandatory settlement process and adjudication.

The insurers who are represented by James A. Prather, Jason M. Freas, Joshua H. Dierker, Pamela B. Gautier, Greg C. Fuxan, and Margaret M. Guidry of Galloway Johnson Tompkins Burr & Smith APLC, argued that arbitration was the proper venue for this case, but the court disagreed.

U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter said in her order, that the Eastern District of Louisiana has adopted a "streamlined settlement program" for Hurricane Ida cases, which either party can petition to opt out of within 15 days of the defendant's responsive pleading, but neither side opted out.

The Judge said that these insurance giants, led by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, failed to opt-out of the program, according to the order. As a result, by default, they agreed to enter into the program, which in the opinion of Judge Vitter, overrode the insurer’s efforts to compel arbitration.… “Accordingly, the parties are subject to participation in the SSP."

The program requires the parties to engage in informal settlement negotiations within 30 days of the case's disclosure deadline, which is then followed by formal mediation if the case has not yet been settled. The lawsuit can proceed if the parties are unable to reach an agreement through mediation.

In her Order, Judge Vitter wrote "Should this case be unable to be amicably resolved pursuant to the SSP, or returned to this court's docket for any reason, the parties may re-urge the present motion at an appropriate time."

As this case works its way through the court process, the USA Herald will continue to bring you the latest docket information on this case.