A panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a Louisiana statute voids the formation of an arbitration clause in a surplus lines insurance contract.
In its opinion, the appellate court reasoned that the general principles of contractual freedom found in the surplus lines business cannot surpass specific statutory commands, like Louisiana’s anti-arbitration policy for most insurance contracts.
The underlying case in front of the 5th Circuit involves the owner of a Best Western hotel