Lloyd's Shipping & Trade Law

Arrest – good arguable case – disclosure; arbitration – stay of arrest

Under what circumstances may an injured third party claim directly from the insurer of its tort feasor? The Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 will enter into force upon decision by the Secretary of State, and when it does, P&I insurers will for the first time be subject to the information duties provided for by the Third Parties Act.

It currently seems fashionable to refer to the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) questions relating to art 5(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (‘the Regulation’).

Has the decision of the House of Lords in The Achilleas radically altered the test for remoteness of damages in contract? Is there now a broader ‘assumption of responsibility’ requirement? The recent judgment of the Commercial Court in Sylvia Shipping Co Ltd v Progress Bulk Carriers Ltd (‘The Sylvia’) [2010] EWHC 542 (Comm) answers both questions in the negative. It explains that The Achilleas lays down no new generally applicable test. The usual remoteness test will continue to apply to the vast majority of cases; and ‘assumption of responsibility’ will be relevant only in unusual cases.