FOLLOW US

Friends of Young Audiences Charter Association (YAC) is a Charter School authorized by the Jefferson Parish Public School System, and is open to Jefferson Parish students entering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

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.

This week YAC asked a Louisiana federal court to deny a motion filed by Lloyd's underwriters and nine other insurers to send the coverage dispute over damage sustained in a hurricane, to arbitration, telling the court that the domestic insurers cannot be forced into arbitration to settle their dispute.

Last week, Friends of Young Audiences Charter Association urged the court to deny the motion to compel arbitration filed by the Lloyd's underwriters, et al., claiming that there are ten separate and distinct insurance contracts for each of the ten insurance companies involved in the litigation, that underwrote the policy, and that there are only two foreign insurers that can take advantage of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

Friends of Young Audiences are represented by Matthew M. Mize and Tristan Gregory Gruspier of Robichaux Mize Wadsack Richardson & Watson LLC and Rajan Pandit, John Mark Fezio, Peter N. Freiberg and Jessie B. Callahan of Pandit Law Firm LLC.

In YAC’s opposition to the motion to compel, counsel said "The insurers' motion to compel arbitration does not state the domicile of all the insurers, but it is important for the court to understand that eight of the 10 underwriters are domestic insurers organized, existing and domiciled in the United States."

According to court documents filed by YAC, the foreign insurance companies are Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, and HDI Global Specialty SE of Hanover, Germany.
The domestic insurers are United Specialty Insurance Co. of Delaware and Texas, Lexington Insurance Co. of Delaware and Massachusetts, Indian Harbor Insurance Co. of Delaware and Connecticut, QBE Specialty Insurance Co. of North Dakota and Wisconsin, Steadfast Insurance Co. of Illinois, General Security Indemnity Co. of Arizona, Safety Specialty Insurance Co. of Missouri and Old Republic Union Insurance Co. of Illinois.

This dispute originates from severe Hurricane Ida-related damage sustained by Friends of Young Audiences on Aug. 29, 2021, at two separate properties it owns in Gretna, Louisiana.