In a case where less than half of the payments were timely per the three-year statute of limitations for loss transfer arbitration, Christopher Major and Senior Paralegal Jenifer Andrews secured an arbitration award of 100% liability and 100% damages against the respondent carrier. After refusing to engage in good-faith settlement negotiations and employing dilatory tactics, the respondent carrier left the workers’ compensation carrier no choice but to file for intercompany loss transfer arbitration. However, the injured worker had a related claim for bodily injury pending in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The respondent carrier sought to use this as a basis for an indefinite deferment of the arbitration. In response, we argued that the summary judgment awarded in favor of the injured worker in the bodily injury case should serve as res judicata on the issue of liability in the loss transfer arbitration and that the respondent carrier should be estopped from relitigating the core issue of fault. Additionally, as liability had resolved in the bodily injury claim, we argued that there was no basis for a deferment as the only remaining issue to be resolved in both the arbitration and the civil claim was damages. During the arbitration, Christopher Major pushed for a finding of 100% liability and 100% damages, despite the statute of limitations, as the respondent carrier failed to raise the statute of limitations defense in its pleadings and had not contested the issue of damages at any point in the proceedings.
Ultimately, the arbitrator agreed with the arguments raised by LOIS and entered an award of 100% liability and damages in favor of the workers’ compensation carrier. By being creative and aggressive, we were able to secure $25,000 more via loss transfer than what the workers’ compensation carrier otherwise would have been entitled to!
