Chubb Custom Insurance v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America

At issue in this appeal is the meaning of a service of suit clause in an insurance policy. In particular, an insured argues that such a provision operates effectively as a forum selection clause, affording it absolute hegemony over the question of the jurisdiction in which any coverage dispute is to be litigated. The trial judge agreed and ruled that the service of suit clause entitled the insured to its choice regarding forum. Thus, he dismissed the insurers’ first-filed action in New Jersey in favor of the insured’s later-filed Delaware suit. The Appellate Division rejected that reading of…