Summary

PETITION FOR AN ORDER APPOINTING AN ARBITRATOR

Petitioners Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, Ethiopian Reinsurance, S.C. and Chubb European Group, SE, by their undersigned attorneys, petition this Court pursuant to Section 5 of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16 (the "FAA"), and Section 206 of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the "Convention"), 9 U.S.C. §§ 201-08, for an Order appointing an arbitrator to preside over an arbitration commenced by The Boeing Company ("Boeing"). Petitioners request that this application be heard in the manner for the making and hearing of motions to this Court under Local Rule LCvR 7 and respectfully ask this Court to consider the accompanying Memorandum of Law and Declaration of Bryce L. Friedman (dated June 1, 2026) ("Friedman Decl."). In support of this Petition, Petitioners state:

NATURE OF DISPUTE

2. On March 10, 2019, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines as Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia ("ET 302 Crash").

3. The ET 302 Crash spurred both civil and criminal litigation against Boeing. Criminally, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Boeing with defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration by intentionally withholding and concealing information about the plane's operational systems. United States v. The Boeing Company, 4:21-CR-005, N.D. Tex., Dkt. 4, at 1, ¶ 1 (Jan. 7, 2021); id. at A-11, ¶ 35. To avoid prosecution, Boeing admitted that it defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration and agreed to pay billions in criminal fines and restitution to victims. Id. at 2, 9, 12, ¶¶ 2, 7, 12, 13; id. at A-13 ¶ 42.

4. More than 140 civil claims were filed against Boeing and consolidated in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. See In re Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 Crash, 1:19-cv-2170 (N.D. Ill.). Boeing admitted liability and stipulated that it "produced an airplane that had an unsafe condition that was a proximate cause of Plaintiff's compensatory damages caused by the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident." Id. at Dkt. 1217-1, Joint Mot. to Approve Stip., at 5 (Nov. 10, 2021); id. at Dkt. 1220, Agreed Order on Joint Mot. to Approve Stip. (Nov. 15, 2021). Boeing further stipulated that it "does not blame any other person for the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident, nor will Boeing argue that anyone else is responsible for Plaintiff's damages." Id. at Dkt. 1217-1 at 5.

5. On February 26, 2026, Boeing initiated an arbitration against Petitioners seeking insurance coverage for liability arising from the ET 302 Crash under an airline liability insurance policy issued to Ethiopian Airlines Group by Ethiopian Insurance Corporation and Ethiopian Reinsurance, S.C. (the "Insurers"), for the period 21 December 2018 to 21 December 2019 (the "Airline Policy"), Friedman Decl. Ex. A, and reinsured1 by Chubb European Group SE and dozens of other reinsurers operating in the Lloyd's of London market (the "Reinsurers"), Friedman Decl. ¶¶ 2, 4.2 Boeing seeks insurance coverage from Ethiopian Insurance Corporation and Ethiopian Reinsurance, S.C. and Chubb European Group SE, as reinsurer of Ethiopian Insurance Corporation and Ethiopian Reinsurance, S.C. Friedman Decl. ¶ 4. Petitioners contend, among other things, that the Airline Policy does not cover Boeing's liability for the ET 302 Crash and, even if coverage were otherwise available, it would be barred by several policy provisions including, among others, the Airline Policy's breach of air navigation regulations exclusion, Friedman Decl. Ex. A § 6.1.1 at Petitioners_00000023, and its criminal and illegal activities exclusion, Friedman Decl. Ex. A § 3.2.2.12 at Petitioners_00000013.

6. Boeing asserts claims against Insurers and Reinsurers totaling in excess of $1 billion arising out of the ET 302 Crash, implicating complex insurance and reinsurance coverage issues.

7. The Airline Policy contains an arbitration clause that requires disputes like this one to be resolved by a three-person arbitration panel: one arbitrator appointed by each party and a third arbitrator--the umpire--to be chosen by the party-appointed arbitrators. Friedman Decl. Ex. A § 6.5 at Petitioners_00000027. This Petition arises from the party-appointed arbitrators' inability to agree on an umpire.

8. The parties' agreements do not provide a mechanism for resolving a deadlock between the party-appointed arbitrators. Boeing has rejected Petitioners' proposal of a "strike- and-rank process," by which the parties nominate umpire candidates, both sides reject unacceptable candidates and rank the remaining ones, ensuring a fair, mutually agreeable decision- maker for the dispute. Friedman Decl. ¶ 17, Ex. M.

9. Therefore, pursuant to Section 206 of the Convention and Section 5 of the FAA, Petitioners ask this Court to appoint as umpire one of the following candidates: Lawrence Pollack, W. Mark Wigmore, or Diane Nergaard. Each of their qualifications is set forth in more detail at Friedman Decl. ¶¶ 7, 13, Exs. E-F, H-L. Significantly, each proposed candidate is a well-qualified neutral with decades of experience in high-value insurance, reinsurance, and other disputes. Each is certified by the AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society ("ARIAS") as an insurance and reinsurance dispute professional. ARIAS is a nonprofit corporation that provides training and continuing education in the skills necessary to serve effectively on an insurance/reinsurance arbitration panel. It certifies a pool of qualified arbitrators to resolve matters in a professional, knowledgeable, and cost-effective manner. ARIAS, Home, www.arias- us.org/ (last accessed May 30, 2026). "Obtaining certification as an ARIAS·U.S. Certified Arbitrator is an accomplishment attained only by those who have demonstrated knowledge and experience in the industry and have completed a rigorous set of standards including training through ARIAS·U.S. educational programs to obtain the necessary skills to serve effectively on an insurance/reinsurance arbitration panel. Once certified, arbitrators are required to participate in ongoing professional development by completing recertification requirements every two years." ARIAS, Certification, www.arias-us.org/certification/ (last accessed May 30, 2026).

10. The parties did not contract for their dispute to be resolved by a court or by a current or former judicial officer. Petitioners believe an umpire with substantial insurance and/or reinsurance experience, and certification by ARIAS as an arbitrator, is better suited to serve as an umpire in this particular insurance and reinsurance matter. Nonetheless, if this Court is inclined to appoint a former judicial officer as Boeing seems to prefer, Petitioners respectfully request that it be retired United States District Court Judge Barbara S. Jones. Friedman Decl. ¶ 20, Ex. N.

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