Joseph T. McCullough IV

Representative Matters

• Served as lead counsel in more than 140 reinsurance arbitrations and court cases.

• Served as a lead counsel on behalf of a major reinsurer challenging the re-domestication of EMLICO to Bermuda in both the Massachusetts and Bermuda courts.

• Successfully represented life reinsurance companies in two arbitrations with their ceding company who fraudulently induced them into participating in a reinsurance quota share agreement covering risks that were part of the personal accident worker’s compensation manufactured “spiral”. Our clients settled the arbitrations on the eves of the two hearings, saving a total of more than $150 million. 

• Successfully represented a pool of reinsurers whose fellow pool member fronted a risk for the pool and later entered into a fraudulent commutation with the underlying cedent using a grossly inflated IBNR figure (more than $100 million more than the IBNR carried on the underlying cedent’s books at the time). The fronting pool member did not pay the commutation price but instead assigned to the underlying cedent its rights under its retrocession contract with the other pool members. Our clients arbitrated the dispute with the underlying cedent/assignee and the case settled very favorably just before the evidentiary hearing was scheduled to begin. 

• Represented a German reinsurer in an arbitration against a U.S. insurer where the client raised breach of contract claims as well as breaches of the duty of utmost good faith. In a unanimous decision, the panel found for our client, awarding it over $15 million in compensatory damages plus 6.5% compound interest and $1 million in punitive damages. The award was confirmed by a federal court. AXA Versicherung AG v. New Hampshire Insurance Co. et al, (S.D.N.Y).

• Represented a major Japanese reinsurer, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars from a rogue managing agent who had defrauded the client and from a large international accounting firm who audited the account, but failed to alert the client about the agent’s fraud.

• Served as lead trial counsel in AXA v. AIG (S.D.N.Y.) in a jury trial that resulted in a jury verdict in AXA’s favor for $35 million in fraud and rescission damages as well as punitive damages.

• Obtained rescission of quota share treaty on behalf of reinsurer for cedent's fraudulent accounting and reporting of historical loss ratios, resulting in award of $28 million.

• Acted as counsel for reinsurers in a large number of disputes with insolvent cedents.

• Successfully represented party in breach of contract and fiduciary duty arbitration with $80 million in claimed damages brought by a major insurance carrier against its managing general underwriter for alleged underwriting guideline violations.