Conflict of laws

Equitas Ltd v Allstate Insurance Company [2008] EWHC 1671 (Comm), a decision of Mr Justice Beatson, is a relatively straightforward application of the principle that the parties to an exclusive jurisdiction clause will be held to their agreement, although the issue arose in a complex reinsurance scenario.

Allstate: the contractual background

Highlands and associated companies were in the period 1977 to 1984 reinsured under quota share (QS) treaties by reinsurers who included a number of Lloyd’s Syndicates. The QS treaties were subject to arbitration under the Texas General Arbitration Act and arbitration was to take place in Houston, Texas, unless some other location was mutually agreed upon by the parties.