Chifici Enterprise v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London et al

Filing 39

ORDER AND REASONS - IT IS ORDERED that 26 Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Proceedings is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' claims against Defendants Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company and AmRisc, LLC remain pending before this Court. Signed by Judge Jane Triche Milazzo on 3/27/2024. (Reference: All Cases)(sa)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

CHIFICI ENTERPRISE
D/B/A DEANIE’S SEAFOOD

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO. 23-5764
c/w 23-5766, 23-6133,
23-6143

CERTAIN UNDERWRITERS
AT LLOYD’S LONDON ET AL.

SECTION: “H”

ORDER AND REASONS
Before the Court is Defendants Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London,
General Security Indemnity Company of Arizona, GeoVera Specialty
Insurance Company, HDI Global Specialty SE, Indian Harbor Insurance
Company, Lexington Insurance Company, Old Republic Insurance Company,
QBE

Specialty

Insurance

Company,

Steadfast

Insurance

Company,

Transverse Specialty Insurance Company, and United Specialty Insurance
Company’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Proceedings (Doc. 26). For
the following reasons, the Motion is GRANTED.
BACKGROUND
This case arises out of an insurance contract dispute following Hurricane
Ida. Consolidated Plaintiffs Chifici Enterprise (d/b/a Deanie’s Seafood); Barchi,
LLC (d/b/a Deanie’s French Quarter); Bucktown Development, LLC; and Olive
Catering Services, LLC (d/b/a Deanie’s on Magazine) allege that Defendants
Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London, General Security Indemnity
1

Company of Arizona, GeoVera Specialty Insurance Company, HDI Global
Specialty SE, Indian Harbor Insurance Company, Lexington Insurance
Company, Old Republic Insurance Company, QBE Specialty Insurance
Company, Steadfast Insurance Company, Transverse Specialty Insurance
Company, and United Specialty Insurance Company (“the insurers”) issued a
policy of surplus lines insurance bearing Account No. 824276 (“the Policy”) to
Plaintiffs covering property located at 1713 Lake Avenue in Metairie,
Louisiana; 841 Iberville Street in New Orleans, Louisiana; and 2200 Magazine
Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Plaintiffs assert breach of contract claims,
breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and entitlement to bad faith
damages under Louisiana Revised Statutes §§ 22:1892 and 22:1973 for
Defendants’ alleged failure to timely and adequately compensate Plaintiffs for
their losses covered under the Policy.
On August 22 and 23, 2023, Plaintiffs each filed separate suits in the
24th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson. On October 4, 2023, all
cases were removed to this Court and thereafter consolidated. 1 Pursuant to the
Eastern District’s Hurricane Ida Case Management Orders, this case is subject
to the Streamlined Settlement Program. 2 Defendants have been granted leave
to opt out of the Streamlined Settlement Program, solely to the extent
necessary to prosecute this Motion to Compel Arbitration. 3 Defendants have
now moved to compel arbitration of this dispute pursuant to an arbitration
agreement in the Policy. Plaintiffs have not filed any opposition to this Motion.
The Court may not, however, simply grant the instant Motion as unopposed.

Doc. 21.
Doc. 5.
3 Case No. 23-cv-5764, Doc. 9; Case No. 23-cv-5766, Doc. 9; Case No. 23-cv-6133, Doc. 10; Case
No. 23-cv-6143, Doc. 10.
1
2

2

The Fifth Circuit approaches the automatic grant of dispositive motions with
considerable aversion. 4 Instead, the Court will consider the Motion’s merits.
LEGAL STANDARD
The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral
Awards (“the Convention”) governs the recognition and enforcement of
arbitration agreements between citizens of nations that are signatories to the
convention. 5 The United States joined the Convention in 1970, with a goal to
“encourage the recognition and enforcement of commercial arbitration
agreements in international contracts and to unify the standards by which
agreements to arbitrate are observed and arbitral awards are enforced in the
signatory countries.” 6 The Convention is implemented by the Federal
Arbitration Act (FAA), which provides for enforcement in United States
courts. 7
“In determining whether the Convention requires compelling arbitration
in a given case, courts conduct only a very limited inquiry.” 8 Courts “should
compel arbitration if (1) there is an agreement in writing to arbitrate the
dispute, (2) the agreement provides for arbitration in the territory of a
Convention signatory, (3) the agreement arises out of a commercial legal
See, e.g., Servicios Azucareros de Venezuela, C.A. v. John Deere Thibodeaux, Inc., 702 F.3d
794, 806 (5th Cir. 2012); Johnson v. Pettiford, 442 F.3d 917, 918 (5th Cir. 2006) (per
curiam); John v. State of Louisiana (Bd. of Trs. For State Colls. and Univs.), 757 F.2d 698,
709 (5th Cir. 1985).
5 See Sedco, Inc. v. Petroleos Mexicanos Mexican Nat’l Oil Co., 767 F.2d 1140, 1144 (5th Cir.
1985).
6 Authenment v. Ingram Barge Co., 878 F. Supp. 2d 672, 676 (E.D. La. 2012) (quoting Scherk
v. Alberto-Culver Co., 417 U.S. 506, 520 n.15 (1974)); Todd Steamship Mut. Underwriting
Ass’n (Bermuda) Ltd., 601 F.3d 329, 332 n.4 (5th Cir. 2010). Where applicable, the
Convention supersedes state law. See McDonnel Grp., LLC v. Great Lakes Ins. Se., 923
F.3d 427, 431–32 (5th Cir. 2019); Aggarao v. MOL Ship Mgmt. Co., Ltd., 675 F.3d 355, 366
(4th Cir. 2012).
7 9 U.S.C. §§ 201–208.
8 Freudensprung v. Offshore Technical Servs., Inc., 379 F.3d 327, 339 (5th Cir. 2004).
4

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relationship, and (4) a party to the agreement is not an American citizen.” 9 If
these four requirements are met, “arbitration agreements and clauses are to
be enforced unless they are invalid under principles of state law that govern
all contracts.” 10
LAW AND ANALYSIS
Defendants assert that the arbitration clause at issue is enforceable
under the Convention. The arbitration provision at issue provides in relevant
part that:
All matters in difference between the Insured and the Companies
(hereinafter referred to as “the parties”) in relation to this
insurance, including its formation and validity, and whether
arising during or after the period of this insurance, shall be
referred to an Arbitration Tribunal in the manner hereinafter set
out.
...
The seat of the Arbitration shall be New York and the Arbitration
Tribunal shall apply the law of New York as the proper law of this
insurance. 11
First, there is a written agreement to arbitrate the dispute contained in
the Policy. Second, the provision provides for arbitration in New York, which
is within a signatory country. 12 Third, the insurance agreement arises out of a
commercial legal relationship—a commercial insurance policy—between
Francisco v. Stolt Achievement MT, 293 F.3d 270, 273 (5th Cir. 2002) (citing Sedco, 767
F.2d at 1144–45).
10 Iberia Credit Bureau, Inc. v. Cingular Wireless, LLC, 379 F.3d 159, 166 (5th Cir. 2004).
Thus, the Court must enforce the arbitration clause “unless it finds that the said agreement
is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed.” Freudensprung, 379 F.3d at
339 (citing Sedco, 767 F.2d at 1146).
11 Doc. 26-2 at 37.
12 Freudensprung, 379 F.3d at 339.
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4

Plaintiffs and Defendants. 13 The fourth requirement that a party to the
agreement is not an American citizen, however, is less clear.
For an agreement to fall under the Convention, at least one party to the
arbitration agreement must be a foreign or non-American citizen. 14 Defendants
argue that this requirement is met because Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s
London and HDI Global Specialty SE are foreign citizens and parties to the
insurance agreement. 15 In this case, however, the allocation endorsement to
the Policy states that the “contract shall be construed as a separate contract
between the Insured and each of the Underwriters.” 16 Accordingly, this Court
finds that the contracts between Plaintiffs and each insurer are separate
agreements. 17 Because Defendants General Security Indemnity Company of
Arizona, GeoVera Specialty Insurance Company, Indian Harbor Insurance
Company, Lexington Insurance Company, Old Republic Insurance Company,
QBE

Specialty

Insurance

Company,

Steadfast

Insurance

Company,

Transverse Specialty Insurance Company, and United Specialty Insurance are
citizens of the United States, this fourth requirement of the Convention is not
facially met as to these insurers. Defendants, however, argue that Plaintiffs
should be equitably estopped from objecting to arbitration against the domestic

See Francisco, 293 F.3d at 273; 9 U.S.C. § 202 (defining a “commercial legal relationship”
as “including a transaction, contract, or agreement described in section 2 of [Title 9],” which
includes “a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce”); Harvey v. Certain
Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, No. 22-4049, 2023 WL 4485083 (E.D. La. June 6, 2023).
14 Sedco, 767 F.2d at 1145.
15 Doc. 26-1 at 9–10.
16 Doc. 26-2 at 4.
17 Apex Hospitality Grp., LLC v. Indep. Specialty Ins. Co., No. 23-2060, 2024 WL 758392
(E.D. La. Feb. 23, 2024) (Milazzo, J.). See also City of Kenner v. Certain Underwriters at
Lloyd’s, London, No. 21-2064, 2022 WL 307295 (E.D. La. Feb. 2, 2022) (Barbier, J.); City of
Kenner v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, No. 22-2167, 2022 WL 16961130 (E.D.
La. Nov. 16, 2022) (Vance, J.); Acad. of Sacred Heart of New Orleans v. Certain
Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, 651 F. Supp. 3d 822 (E.D. La. 2023) (Africk, J.).
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insurers while participating in parallel arbitration proceedings with the
foreign insurers.
The Fifth Circuit has held that “application of equitable estoppel is
warranted when [a] signatory to the contract containing an arbitration clause
raises allegations of substantially interdependent and concerted misconduct
by both the nonsignator[ies] and one or more of the signatories to the
contract.” 18 “Otherwise the arbitration proceedings between the two
signatories would be rendered meaningless and the federal policy in favor of
arbitration effectively thwarted.” 19
This Court finds that Plaintiffs have alleged “interdependent and
concerted” conduct by Defendants in their state court petitions. 20 The Court
finds the opinion in Academy of Sacred Heart of New Orleans v. Certain
Underwriters at Lloyd’s London instructive on this point:
Although the insurance policy states that plaintiffs have separate
contracts with each insurer, there is one insurance policy
document that sets forth the terms and conditions of the coverage
on the risk. The operative policy language is identical as to all of
the insurers, foreign and domestic. 21
Here too, there is one insurance policy that sets forth the terms and conditions
of coverage, and the operative policy language is identical as to each defendantinsurer. 22

Grigson v. Creative Artists Agency LLC, 210 F.3d 524, 527 (5th Cir. 2000) (quoting MS
Dealer Serv. Corp. v. Franklin, 177 F.3d 942, 947 (11th Cir. 1999)).
19 Id.
20 See City of Kenner, 2022 WL 307295, at *3.
21 Acad. of Sacred Heart of New Orleans, 651 F. Supp. 3d at 830 (quoting Port Cargo Servs.,
LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, No. 18-6192, 2018 WL 4042874, at *3 (E.D.
La. Aug. 24, 2018)).
22 See Doc. 25-3; Doc. 1-2 at 7 (“The Policy is an insurance contract between Plaintiff and
Defendants that provides coverage for the losses resulting from Hurricane Ida.”).
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Plaintiffs fail to distinguish between the conduct of each defendant in
these consolidated cases. Here, Plaintiffs allege—without differentiation—that
Defendants performed inspections of the damages to the insured properties
and grossly underreported property damages. 23 Plaintiffs allege that
Defendants failed to timely tender adequate funds under the Policy. 24
Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants conducted investigations and claims
handling in bad faith, among other acts. 25 Because of the Defendants’ actions,
Plaintiffs aver that Defendants breached the insurance contract and their
affirmative statutory duties under Louisiana law. Accordingly, this Court finds
that Plaintiffs failed to differentiate purported wrongful conduct by the
insurers and therefore charged them with conduct that was “interdependent
and in concert” in connection with their handling of Plaintiffs’ insurance
claims. 26 Equitable estoppel is therefore warranted in this case, and Plaintiffs
must arbitrate their asserted claims against Defendants.
Defendants have asked the Court to stay this matter pending
arbitration. Pursuant to 9 U.S.C. § 3, the Court “shall on application of one of
the parties stay the trial of the action until such arbitration has been had in
accordance with the terms of the agreement.” Accordingly, this matter must be
stayed pending resolution of the arbitration proceedings.

Case No. 23-cv-5764, Doc. 1-2 at 8; Case No. 23-cv-5766, Doc. 1-2 at 5; Case No. 23-cv-6133,
Doc. 1-2 at 5; Case No. 23-cv-6143, Doc. 1-2 at 5.
24 Case No. 23-cv-5764, Doc. 1-2 at 10; Case No. 23-cv-5766, Doc. 1-2 at 6; Case No. 23-cv6133, Doc. 1-2 at 6; Case No. 23-cv-6133, Doc. 1-2 at 6.
25 Case No. 23-cv-5764, Doc. 1-2 at 9; Case No. 23-cv-5766, Doc. 1-2 at 6; Case No. 23-cv-6133,
Doc. 1-2 at 6; Case No. 23-cv-6133, Doc. 1-2 at 6.
26 See City of Kenner, 2022 WL 307295, at *3. See also Acad. of Sacred Heart of New Orleans,
651 F. Supp. 3d at 830; Holts v. TNT Cable Contractors, Inc., No. 19-13546, 2020 WL
1046337, at *4 (E.D. La. Mar. 4, 2020) (Feldman, J.).
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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ Motion to Compel Arbitration and
Stay Proceedings (Doc. 26) is GRANTED. Plaintiffs’ claims against
Defendants Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company and
AmRisc, LLC remain pending before this Court.

New Orleans, Louisiana, on this 27th day of March, 2024.

______________________________________
JANE TRICHE MILAZZO
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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