In Equitable Members Action Group v Her Majesty’s Treasury [2009] EWHC 2495 (Admin), the claimant action group, comprising of current and former policyholders of the Equitable Life Assurance Society (the Society), applied for a Judicial Review of HM Treasury’s rejection of certain findings by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman).
United Kingdom
UK: LMX Spiral Claims – Landmark Decision
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Reinsurance, United Kingdom
UK: Employer’s Liability Trigger Judgment – Appeal Starts Today
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In November 2008 we reported here that the English High Court had ruled that employers’ liability policies, however they are worded, are triggered by exposure to asbestos and not when, many years later, the tumour develops.
…
Read More UK: Employer’s Liability Trigger Judgment – Appeal Starts Today
UK: Court of Appeal Decision Demonstrates the Wide Applicability of the “Fairchild” Exception for Mesothelioma Claims
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In Sienkiewicz v Greif (UK) Ltd, the Court of Appeal considered the combined effect of the House of Lords’ decisions in Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services and Barker v Corus and section 3 of the Compensation Act 2006 on liability for mesothelioma claims. …
Read More UK: Court of Appeal Decision Demonstrates the Wide Applicability of the “Fairchild” Exception for Mesothelioma Claims
UK: Publication of Responses to Law Commissions’ Proposals Concerning Micro-Businesses
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Regulatory, United Kingdom
The Law Commission has now published the responses it has received to Issues Paper 5 “Reforming Insurance Contract Law: Micro-businesses”, published in April 2009. The Issues Paper asked whether micro-businesses should be treated like consumers for the purposes of pre-contractual information and unfair terms.
…
Read More UK: Publication of Responses to Law Commissions’ Proposals Concerning Micro-Businesses
UK: Foot Report on British Offshore Financial Centres Published
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In December 2008, Michael Foot (formerly of the Bank of England, the FSA and the Central Bank of the Bahamas) was appointed by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer to identify the opportunities and challenges facing the British Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey) and six Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands).
…
Read More UK: Foot Report on British Offshore Financial Centres Published
UK: Court of Appeal Confirms that English Courts have no Jurisdiction to Sanction Lehman Brothers Scheme
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a judgment handed down last week, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Mr Justice Blackburne (previously reported here) that the English courts have no jurisdiction to sanction the proposed scheme of arrangement for Lehman Brothers International Europe (LBIE) insofar as it purports to extinguish rights of beneficiaries under trusts.
UK: Court Refuses to Imply Concept of Dominant Purpose into Insurance Policy Wording
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United Kingdom
In Wickham Van Eyck (a firm) v Norwich Union Insurance Limited [2009] EWCH 2625 (Comm), the High Court held that the defendant insurer was bound to indemnify the claimant firm of architects under the terms of an insurance policy in respect of a dispute between the claimant and another firm of architects.
…
Read More UK: Court Refuses to Imply Concept of Dominant Purpose into Insurance Policy Wording
UK: High Court Refuses to Give Insurer Access to a Firm’s Intervention Documents Held by the Law Society
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in United Kingdom
Insurers of solicitors’ firms that have been intervened by the Law Society are not entitled to search through all the Law Society’s documents for evidence that would enable them to refuse an indemnity, the High Court has ruled. …
Read More UK: High Court Refuses to Give Insurer Access to a Firm’s Intervention Documents Held by the Law Society
UK: Insurance Business Transfer Approved by Court as not Improper or Unfair to Policyholders
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Regulatory, United Kingdom
On 16 October 2009, Mr Justice Norris released his reasoning for sanctioning the transfer of the long-term insurance business of Commercial Union Life Assurance Company Limited (Commercial Union), CGNU Life Assurance Limited (CGNU) and Norwich Union Life (RBS) Limited (Norwich Union) to Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited (Aviva) under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).