Guy Carpenter & Company — Reinsurance Dispute

Jim McDermott and Dwain Clifford represented Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC (a reinsurance intermediary that is part of the family of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.) in a case filed in the Idaho Federal District Court asserting several claims by an insurer that allegedly suffered over $55 million in damages stemming from Guy Carpenter’s placement and negotiation of reinsurance agreements.

Insurers like the plaintiff commonly purchase reinsurance to transfer risk that the insurer has assumed from its policyholders. The insurer in this case alleged, among other things, that it was unaware of certain reinsurance premiums and that two of the reinsurance agreements placed by Guy Carpenter did not transfer enough risk. 

During the litigation of the case, Guy Carpenter won summary judgment against negligent-misrepresentation claims that, under Idaho law, cannot be asserted against parties such as Guy Carpenter, and Guy Carpenter also defeated the plaintiff’s motion to certify the dispositive issue in the summary judgment motion to the Idaho Supreme Court. The parties settled the dispute before trial for a fraction of the original demand.

General Fire & Casualty Co. v. Guy Carpenter & Co., United States District Court, District of Idaho, Case No. CIV-05-251-S-LMB