Early last month a federal court in Indianapolis barred a policyholder from seeking the claims and underwriting files of the defendant carrier’s reinsurer in Indianapolis Airport Auth. v. Travelers Property Cas. Co. of Amer., 2015 WL 1548959, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45123 (S.D. Ind., Apr. 7 2015). Several months ago, the same court also shot down the policyholder’s requests for the insurer’s reserves. The insured operated the Indianapolis International Airport, and it began construction on the $1 billion Midfield Terminal Project in 2005 and secured a builder’s risk policy from Travelers to cover the work. On January 24, 2007, temporary shoring towers collapsed, damaging the building, disrupting the original construction schedule, and generating claims by consultants and contractors. The policyholder…
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With Respect to Discoverability, Indiana Federal Court Distinguishes Between Pre-Suit and Post-Suit Reserves
In May, we reported on a Third Circuit decision holding that loss reserve information was generally irrelevant and not discoverable. In October, a federal court in Indiana came to the same conclusion with respect to post-suit reserves. In G & S Metal Consultants, Inc. v. Continental Casualty Co., 2014 WL 5431223, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151431 (N.D.Ind., Oct. 24, 2014), the court agreed that reserves established after litigation were irrelevant because of the multiplicity of factors that were necessarily considered in establishing them. The opinion suggests that pre-suit reserves are discoverable unless they have been set in anticipation of litigation and consultation with counsel, however. G & S Metal Consultants filed suit for property damage and business interruption loss after…
