All American Roofing, Inc. v. Zurich American Insurance Company 

Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Insurance
Arbitration
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 1-09-2631
Decision Date: 
Friday, August 20, 2010
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
Cook Co., 6th Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part.
Justice: 
McBRIDE
Roofing company filed declaratory judgment action, claiming that mandatory arbitration clause its workers' compensation insurer was relying upon was unenforceable due to insurer's conduct at time of contracting. Employer was bound by the program agreements it executed for two policy years, and disputes arising from those policy years are subject to the mandatory arbitration clause. Employer failed to identify material issues as to insurer's alleged deceptive practices or procedural unconscionability. Rating agreements were only six pages long, with arbitration and choice-of-law language prominent. However, as to two other policy years, employer never ratified those program agreements, by refusing to sign them; and both parties consistently demonstrated their understanding that the agreements needed to be signed to become effective; thus, employer was not bound by mandatory arbitration clause of those two policy years. (CAHILL and R.E. GORDON, concurring.)