Opinion ID: 1364007
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: PSMIC's Discovery of Sullivan's Recovery

Text: On January 14, 2009, shortly after filing the Notice of Appeal, PSMIC's counsel learned, through another client who sought to appoint Sullivan as an arbitrator, that Sullivan's health had improved to such a degree that he was again seeking work as an arbitrator. PSMIC's counsel wrote to Sullivan that day, copying the original panel members and INA's counsel, stating that he had learned that Sullivan had recovered and asking if Sullivan might be available to rejoin the panel, which would resolve the dispute regarding panel composition. INA's counsel responded, copying Sullivan, before Sullivan did and stated that INA was unwilling to agree to allow Mr. Sullivan to rejoin the prior, defunct panel. On January 22, 2009, following more correspondence between the parties, Sullivan responded to PSMIC that I am not willing to put my name forward [to rejoin the panel] because I believe that I have no right to do so. I stepped down from the panel on 5/2/2008 and am unwilling to attempt to change my status. In early February of that year, PSMIC's counsel learned that Sullivan had attended a two-day arbitration conference in New York from November 6 to 7, 2008, that INA's counsel had also attended. This conference took place the week before the oral argument in the district court regarding INA's petition and PSMIC's cross-petition, where, needless to say, INA's counsel did not mention that he had seen Sullivan. On February 13, 2009, after learning this information, PSMIC filed a Rule 60(b) motion seeking relief from the December 10, 2008 order on the basis of, inter alia, newly discovered evidence that Sullivan's health had improved to the point that he had been actively seeking work by the time the district court rendered its original judgment. [1]