PinnOak Resources LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London

PinnOak Resources LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London

Allied World Assurance Company ("AWAC"), represented by Costantino P. Suriano and Frank J. DeAngelis, obtained an order denying plaintiff's motion to remand the case to state court and granting AWAC's motion to compel arbitration pursuant to the New York Convention, which governs the enforceability of International arbitration agreements.

Plaintiffs owned and operated a mine in West Virginia that allegedly suffered a loss in excess of $100 million as a result of methane gas explosions. AWAC, a Bermudan insurance company, issued an insurance policy to plaintiffs that contained a U.K. arbitration clause. AWAC removed the case from state court to the Southern District of West Virginia and demanded arbitration. Plaintiff claimed that the New York Convention was "reverse preempted" by the McCarran-Ferguson Act and West Virginia Insurance Code and therefore must be decided by the West Viginia state court. MCW&G successfully argued before Chief Judge David Faber that the New York Convention, as an International Treaty, could not be preempted by either state or federal law. Consequently, plaintiffs were required to arbitrate their claims against AWAC in London.