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Ecuadorian cover based in London
US$300mn liability cover for Ecuadorian airline TAME’s Boeing 727-100, which crashed into the side of a volcano on the Ecuadorian/Colombian border in foggy conditions late in January, was led by London-based Global Aerospace Underwriting..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
US airlines look to form captive
The Air Transport Association is working with Marsh & McLennan to provide airlines with a vehicle giving the mandatory US$1.5bn in third-party war liability coverage. The captive, provisionally named Equitine, will be jointly owned by the..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
China gets first D&O policy
Ping An Insurance of China, together with Chubb Insurance, has introduced China’s first directors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability insurance cover.
A good level of takeup is expected as China’s securities market regulator..
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01 March 2002
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Lloyd’s makes another cash call
Lloyd’s has announced it is to make a second cash call to cope with claims from the 11 September attacks and US regulator demands for 100% deposits.
A 60% deposit of US$2bn was made in November, with the remaining 40% due in March. At..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
A M Best reaffirms Iron Trades’ A- rating
A M Best has affirmed the A- (excellent) financial strength rating of Iron Trades Insurance (ITIC) and removed the ‘under review’ status applied to reflect concerns on the QBE Group’s potential loss exposure from the World Trade..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Victim’s wife and child receive $1.75mn
..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Scottish Widows to pay GAR holders
Reversing its previous stance in the light of the House of Lords ruling on Equitable Life, Scottish Widows (acquired by Lloyd’s TSB in 1999) will pay £1.4bn compensation to 200,000 guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) pension policyholders from..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Judge calls for action on hatch covers
In a major interview for Lloyd’s List
(4 February 2002) Mr Justice Colman has highlighted the continued danger from substandard hatch covers.
Despite the long-fought-for evidence from the loss of the Derbyshire
(Colman J’s report and..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Officer wins compensation for pirate attack
A brief report in Lloyd’s List
notes a £40,000 award for posttraumatic stress to a female officer on the Shell vessel Isomeria
who was wounded when used as a human shield by attacking pirates.
She has recovered from the wounds (probably..
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01 March 2002
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Contractors contribute to Piper compensation
The House of Lords has confirmed a Scottish court ruling that a contractor that employed some of the victims of the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 must contribute to the compensation paid out by platform operator Caledonia North Sea.
The ruling in..
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01 March 2002
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‘Unlawful exclusion’?
Campaigning law firm Thompsons has called on Royal & SunAlliance to honour obligations arising from Royal Insurance’s cover of Turner & Newall from 1972 to 1977 and to compensate former workers in Clyde shipyards now suffering..
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01 March 2002
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House of cards?
After a few year’s of lull and stabilisation, the impact of asbestos is escalating into areas formerly considered immune, the impact either direct or at one remove.
Bermuda-based Scandinavian Re
has ceased new and renewal underwriting after..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Compensation under defendant’s national law
A ruling that the Dutch widow of a man, killed on a trawler owned by an English company, receive damages in full – rather than minus state and other benefits as under Dutch law – reaffirms that damages should be calculated under the..
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01 March 2002
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Railtrack criticised for five-year delay in settlement
with 10 accident victims who eventually won £1.5mn in compensation. Mr Justice Mackay criticised the delay of Railtrack and the company responsible for carrying out safety audits in admitting liability for the death of one and the injury of 17..
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01 March 2002
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Silverstein saga continues
Silverstein Properties has filed papers demanding Swiss Re post a US$700mn bond – its maximum involvement on a two-event basis – with US regulators.
Insurers Ace and XL Capital have achieved settlement with Silverstein for their..
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01 March 2002
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Enron fallout hits market
The collapse of Enron is having an impact on both the market and individuals, who may never even have heard of it as an entity.
Just one example is the collapse of settlement negotiations between the victims of a 1996 explosion at a shoe store in..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Baxter tubing award upheld
The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld an US$18mn award made in 1998 by a lower court to the heirs of a woman who died when intravenous tubing came apart.
It was held that the design was defective and that Baxter International should have warned..
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01 March 2002
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Sulzer US settlement
Sulzer Medica has put forward a US$1bn settlement package for suits facing its US arm Sulzer Orthopaedics, relating to faulty hip and knee implants. Sulzer Medica will contribute US$725mn, with insurers and parent Sulzer paying the rest.
Although..
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01 March 2002
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Baycol action in English courts
Pharmaceutical litigation specialist law firm Hugh James Ford Simey has launched a class action on behalf of 22 British claimants. The firm is currently investigating almost 500 reports to the UK Medicines Controls Agency of alleged side-effects..
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01 March 2002
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Question over sodium valproate
Twenty mothers have won legal aid to launch a negligence action against health authorities (others expected to join) over the effects on their unborn infants of sodium valproate (brand name Epilim), an anticonvulsant drug for those with..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Precaution or pride?
A strange standoff has developed in the UK on the provision of an alternative to MMR, the triple vaccine against the ailments of measles, mumps and rubella.
The latest research – attributed by the media to Dr Andrew Wakefield, giving the..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Lockerbie bomb loaded at Heathrow?
New evidence presented at the appeal of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man convicted for participation in the destruction of the aircraft, has suggested the bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie was loaded at Heathrow, rather..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Passenger fear ‘can cause DVT’
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can be caused by stress and fear of flying, according to some medical research, as fear causes constriction of veins. Other estimates suggest two-thirds of passengers are fearful of flying.
The next step is identification..
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01 March 2002
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DVT group litigation proceeds
The High Court has cleared the way for group litigation on the preliminary issue of whether deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is an ‘accident’ under the Warsaw Convention, although it is unlikely to be heard for at least a year. Previous judges..
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01 March 2002
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‘Gross negligence’ in crash overturned
In 1994 a Chinook helicopter crashed off the Mull of Kintyre with the deaths of 29 crew and senior army personnel. Despite findings by the original RAF inquiry and the Air Accident Investigation Branch that it was not possible to determine the cause..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Kenya plane had faulty alarm and pilot error
..
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01 March 2002
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Iranian TU-154 crashes into mountains
An Iran Air Tours TU-154 passenger aircraft with 117 passengers and crew crashed into mountains near Khorramabad on 12 February, shortly before it was due to land. All are presumed dead. Early reports suggested the plane was in good maintenance..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Birmingham jet was not deiced
The private jet that crashed last month at Birmingham airport with the deaths of two businessmen and three crew had not been deiced. Witnesses report seeing frost or ice on the wings but the pilots, although inspecting them, did not request..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Police make arrest for traffic in Airbus parts
Italian police have arrested six people for trafficking in defective Airbus spare parts, an operation of Italian company Panaviation. A number of aging Airbus A300s were found partly dismantled for the onward sale of thousands of parts to the US and..
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01 March 2002
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Post-11 September 2001: brave new world?
16–17 May • London • The British Insurance Law Association will provide a forum for informed discussion and debate, led by principal legal and market figures on both sides of the Atlantic concerned with the immediate impact of 11..
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01 March 2002
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Professional indemnity insurance: facing the past – analysing the future
10–12 April • Queens’ College, Cambridge • The usual interactive format of expert presentations, masterclasses and symposium (free for all) will look at the whole gamut of developments in this sphere •..
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01 March 2002
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China sees more openings
New regulations effective from 1 February 2002 allow foreign insurers to operate liability, property, credit, personal, life, health and accident insurance in China.
Large-scale commercial risk coverage may be offered with special permission from..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
China courts to hear shareholder suits
The Supreme People’s Court of China has reversed its earlier ruling prohibiting lawsuits by investors seeking damages for losses related to fraudulent disclosures by companies. Two shareholder claims were suspended in September last year, with..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Guide to disability act
Remploy, employer of more than 11,000 disabled people, has compiled a guide to the Disability Discrimination Act. It includes warning that from 2004 all companies of whatever size will be included in its requirements banning discrimination against..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Solicitors bring in lay complaints supremo
..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Suits go online
Claims of up to £100,000 may be filed on the internet and, if undefended, money can be recovered without any court appearance.
Money Claim Online, launched late 2001, is at
www.courtservice.gov.uk/mcol • Fee is £27 payable by credit..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
ADR for bulk PI claims
The City Disputes Panel is to administer the first case-by-case review scheme for bulk personal injury claims under a system of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
This will handle claims from past employees and local residents of the Capper Pass..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Disputed costs cases mount
With hundreds of thousands of disputed costs cases stacking up, including 70,000 involving Claims Direct, Lord Phillips said he is ‘far from content to leave it to the courts’ to resolve a situation he characterises as the..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Review of audit regulation
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is giving priority to review of the regulation of audit practice in the UK. It was not only alerted by Enron but is responding to the problems of Independent Insurance, Equitable Life and others.
A review..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Level of solicitors’ indemnity
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01 March 2002
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Claims Direct buys Claimline
Claims Direct has, after some months of negotiations, purchased rescuer Simon Ware-Lane’s smaller operation Claimline for £1.54mn through a share issue.
Providing operating economies and the benefit of Claimline’s good relations..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
RSA doubles asbestos claims reserves
Royal & Sun Alliance has more than doubled reserves for asbestos claims to US$538mn. Reserves have also been increased by £220mn in respect of other losses, including the World Trade Center and Enron. Operating profits for 2001 are..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Duty to provide security
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01 March 2002
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First insurer fails due to 11 September
Taisei Fire & Marine Insurance has filed for insolvency in the Tokyo District Court.The first major insurer to go under as a result of the attacks of 11 September, it is also the first nonlife insurer to file for protection under the special..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Indian ruling allows insurer challenge
A ruling of the Supreme Court of India, reported in Insurance Day
of 5 February 2002, will allow insurers to challenge the size of awards by a motor accidents claim tribunal to third parties.
This now applies even where the nominal defendant has..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Claim against road authority succeeds
A claim by Lisa Palmer, tetraplegic after her car left the road and rolled down an embankment, has led to an award of more than A$16mn.
The claim was brought against the New South Wales Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA), Evans Shire Council and..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Irish premiums rise despite accident reduction
Motor insurance premiums in Ireland have increased by an average of 25% despite a fall in the number of accidents.
Responding to criticism from consumers and government, the Irish Insurance Federation said claims costs are still increasing. It also..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Mobile phone victim gets $20.9mn
..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Survey of UK motor market 2000
A survey of the UK motor market in 2000 appears in our sister journal London Market Newsletter
issue 709, giving details of gross and net written premiums, reinsurance, underwriting result and so on for 81 companies and syndicates. Unfortunately..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Study highlights importance of rear seatbelts
Analysis of 100,000 accidents by Dr Masao Ichikawa of Tokyo University, reported in The Lancet
of 4 January 2002, has highlighted the importance of rear seatbelts.
Unbelted rear-seat passengers present the biggest single threat to drivers and front..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
NHS charge increase withdrawn
Recent amendments to the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act, raising the amount an insurer could be required to pay when the victim of a road accident is admitted to hospital to £30,000, have been withdrawn. The Association of British Insurers had..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
New risk for house vendors
Undisclosed damages have been awarded in York County Court in Pemberton v King
for lack of warning to the new purchaser of problems with noisy neighbours.
It was agreed that in a presale document Mr and Mrs King had ticked the ‘no’ box..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Commercial contracts a pitfall for solicitors
Errors in commercial contracts are estimated as accounting for a quarter of all professional negligence claims against solicitors, according to a report in the Law Society Gazette
of 14 February 2002.
The experience of leading insurer for..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Equitable gets 97% vote and High Court OK
Equitable Life having won support for the rescue package from 97% of voting policyholders in both classes (though with less than 50% of eligible members actually voting), and the passing of the deadline for challenge to the Court of Appeal, most..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Small IFAs lag on misselling compensation
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to increase pressure on small Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) to speed compensation for misselling of personal pensions. To date it has only dealt with 61% of cases, compared with 89% covered by larger..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Financial Services & Markets Act
A useful overview of the Financial Services & Markets Act, which came into force on 1 December 2001, appears in the winter 2001/2 issue of Barlow Lyde & Gilbert’s D&O Liability Review
.
Email the author, Francis Kean •..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Test for LLPs
Commentators have suggested suits against Arthur Andersen for its part in Enron’s activities, if exhausting insurance cover, could lead to the first test for limited liability partnerships. Some believe that any and all partners could be held..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
New legal duties on trustees
Following the Myners report on institutional investment, a government consultation paper has proposed new legal duties on the trustees of pension funds.
This specifically addresses concerns that big companies do too little about poor performance,..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Human rights present risk to multinationals
According to research published by Amnesty International and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum in Business and Human Rights: a geography of corporate risk
(see Financial Times
, 13 February 2002) multinational companies are..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Duties and responsibilities of directors
CMS Cameron McKenna has produced a guide to the duties and responsibilities of the increasing number of directors appointed, often at short notice, as directors in nonhome jurisdictions on behalf of multinational groups.
Downloaded from..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Professional perils
D&O cover a ‘warning’
A study by Prof Larry Dann of the University of Oregon, to be published at the end of April in the Journal of Finance
, shows a strong link between the purchase of directors’ and officers’ cover..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Corporate killing alert
A note in the winter 2001/2 issue of Barlow Lyde & Gilbert’s D&O Liability Review
reminds that, although issues of corporate killing seem to have been kicked into the long grass of UK legislation, UK firms may be exposed to charges..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Minimum wage rules help recover millions
Over recent months more than £2mn has been recovered from skin-flint employers that failed to observe the legal minimum wage payment to their employees. More than 5,000 workers have as a result received an average of £370 each.
The..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
MoD immunity lifted
A decision on the Queen’s Bench Division that crown immunity was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights will allow a number of claims for death or injury to proceed against the armed forces.
Aspects of crown immunity had..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Miners’ compensation grows
From the original cost estimate of £2bn when the government scheme to compensate miners suffering from respiratory disease and vibration white finger was set up in 1998, current estimates suggest a cost of £6.2mn by 2005.
Of the 173,824..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Judge orders IBP to pay for work preparation
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Personal files must be made accessible
Under the final draft of the Information Commission’s code on employee records, employers must make personal records, including emails and handwritten notes, available to employees on payment of £10.
This right applies to virtually all..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
SCOR issues harassment/discrimination report
SCOR has produced an excellent overview of harassment and discrimination – the major ‘new risks for employers’. It covers a range of aspects, mainly from a European perspective though with reference to the US experience...
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Stress claims rise dramatically
Figures from the Trades Union Congress show that work-related stress claims, with union backing, rose from 516 in 2000 to 6,428 last year.
During the same period personal injury claims fell by 750 to 51,204, mostly arising from accidents at work...
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Stress claim criteria
Considering four appeals against awards for psychiatric injury caused by workplace stress, the Court of Appeal has laid down guidelines that essentially confirm criteria of foreseeability and comparison. (See Case update
.)
Employers have a duty to..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
HSE prosecutions 2000/1
The Offences and Penalties report of the Health & Safety Executive shows prosecution of 1,030 dutyholders for 2,077 offences, with a 72% conviction rate. For managers and directors of businesses the average fine was £834 (with a single..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Employers fail to fight asthma
Reporting to an HSE project, the Trades Union Congress has estimated there are 150,000 people suffering occupational asthma in UK, with up to a further 7,000 developing it each year as a result of work conditions. In a survey it found only 8% of..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
EU recognises penalties
The European Parliament has approved draft legislation that will allow mutual recognition of penalties levied for safety violations throughout the EU. Final approval by the European Council is expected.This will stop companies that are found guilty..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
White asbestos recognised as health hazard
White asbestos (chrysotile), formerly considered less dangerous than blue asbestos (crocidolite) and brown asbestos (amosite), has now been recognised on the basis of scientific evidence as a major health hazard.
As a result the Health & Safety..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Erika cleanup claim fails
The Rennes Court of Appeal has rejected a move by the tiny village of Mesquer to obtain US$60,000 from TotalFinaElf for cleanup of oil on its beaches that leaked from the Erika
in 1999.
It was held that the 1975 legislation providing that waste is..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
EC seeks retesting of 30,000 chemicals
The European Commission is seeking to enforce retesting of 30,000 chemicals in use in everyday products where former tests took place more than 10 years ago.
The Chemical Industries Association opposes the move – and is likely to be joined by..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
EU adopts environmental liability directive
The European Commission Directive on Environment Liability was adopted in January, though it is not yet fully implemented. A useful question-and-answer overview by Valerie Fogleman of Barlow Lyde & Gilbert appears in Insurance Day
, 31 January..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Angler acts while Environment Agency havers
Keen angler Roy Hart has brought and won a case against Anglian Water for pollution of the River Crouch with sewage sludge. The Environment Agency is still considering whether to take action.
Blamed on failure of a bolt, which was not spotted..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Sewage flood breaches human rights
The Court of Appeal has upheld a claim by Peter Marcic that repeated flooding of his home by sewage, under the control of Thames Water, was a breach of his human rights.
Damages are yet to be assessed but the court suggested they may be determined..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Atmospheric asthma risk to children
Researchers at the University of Southern California have demonstrated that the sharp rise in childhood asthma (1.4mn affected in Britain) is linked to air pollution.
This is from studies of thousands of children, assessing whether they habitually..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Landfill risk of birth defects
Research by Dr Martine Vrijheid of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine into 23 landfill sites across Europe shows chromosomal abnormality birth defects are 40% more likely to those living within 3km of such sites. An earlier study..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
AZF explosion likely to exceed TFE’s cover
The cost of last September’s explosion at TotalFinaElf ’s AZF chemicals plant at Toulouse is expected to exceed TotalFinaElf ’s liability cover of €850mn (US$760mn).
Latest estimates of damage to third parties stands at..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Holocaust victims’ fund meets problems
Lawrence Eagleburger has resigned as chairman of the international commission dealing with Holocaust-related insurance claims. He claimed he lacked the authority to resolve disputes between insurers and survivors or families.
He was reappointed..
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01 March 2002
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Reliance hits rivals
After years of damage to other insurers by Reliance’s underpricing of workers’ compensation, business liability and motor insurance, insurers have been called on to make up its shortfall. Following last year’s bankruptcy of..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
No more arsenic on picnic tables
The St Louis Post-Despatch
reports action by local senator Bill Nelson seeking an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban on the use of arsenic as a pesticide on outdoor wood. Decking, playground equipment and picnic tables were cited.
The EPA..
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01 March 2002
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City liable for emergency service failures
The First Appellate District of California has held that government agencies can be held liable for the actions of 911 emergency medical dispatchers. They are not entitled to the limited immunity of rescue personnel such as firefighters.This..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Explorer investigation refused
The US National Highways Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA) has rejected a request from Bridgestone/Firestone to investigate the design safety of the Ford Explorer.
As part of the ongoing tyre failure/rollover litigation, Bridgestone suggested..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Special liability market
Data from MarketStance estimates the US special liability market at nearly US$5bn, almost 13% of the total liability sector in the US. MarketStance also estimates the untapped market for special liability coverages (errors and omissions,..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Employment practice liability rises 44%
A new Jury Verdict Research report, Employment Practice Liability: Jury Award Trends and Statistics, 2001 Edition
, has found an average 44% increase in jury awards for employment practice liability suits in 2000.
This could relate to the time taken..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Mega-awards decrease
The annual survey of awards carried out by the National Law Journal
(4 February 2002) shows a significant reduction in huge damages awards, 18 of more than US$100mn in 2001 down from 27 the year before. But the number of US$20mn verdicts remained..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Judge refuses brake claim consolidation
Judge Alfred Wolin, presiding over the Federal-Mogul chapter 11 bankruptcy, has refused a move by DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors and other motor manufacturers to consolidate tens of thousands of asbestos claims from motor mechanics into a..
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01 March 2002
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$1.6mn verdict allows further suit
A US$1.6mn verdict against Pittsburgh Corning, which made asbestos pipe covering from 1962 to 1972, has been upheld in favour of the family of steelworker Joseph Cicchillo by the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals. He was represented by law firm..
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01 March 2002
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Tobacco update
A claim based solely on vascular disease,
allegedly caused by smoking, is being heard in the US District Court, Kansas City.The claimant argues that R J Reynolds and Brown & Williamson knew as far back as the 1940s that smoking caused vascular..
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01 March 2002
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BSE, CJD and F&M
Trustees have been appointed to administer the vCJD Trust fund
to work under the chairmanship of Sir Robert Owen QC.
The trust will function in allocating compensation to victims and families until cases exceed 250. If this occurs then a new trust,..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
EU adopts product safety directive for 2004
The Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC, adopted by the EU in January this year, is due for implementation by January 2004. It is applicable not only to the usual run of consumer goods but also the food sector where it is not already covered by EU..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Scientists find new car effect
Scientists at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation have found high levels of toxins are emitted from the interior of cars for up to six months after leaving the showroom. These include benzene, acetone,..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Dealer liable for Ford Explorer rollover
A Californian couple, Agop and Catherine Gozukara, severely injured in a rollover of their Ford Explorer, have settled their claim for US$9.4mn. The Department of Transportation also agreed a settlement of US$5.5mn.
For the first time, a jury found..
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01 March 2002
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140 - 01 March 2002
Mugging the biggest risk?
A flurry of activity on the use and safety of mobile phones has brought the first definitive response. This comes from Lord Woolf in the Court of Appeal, increasing sentences on two young street robbers and issuing guidelines on tougher..
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01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
GM crops expand
Despite caveats, the worldwide expansion of genetically modified (GM) crops continues. Substantial expansion of GM crops (altered for herbicides, pesticides or productivity) took place in 2001, with 5.5mn farmers using the technology and 52.6mn..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Security of costs
A party challenging the enforcement of a foreign arbitration award was entitled to a court order for security of costs against the holder of the award.
Dardana Ltd v Yukos Oil Co • Queen’s Bench Division •
The Times • 4..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Date of calculation of multipliers
With damages already agreed, the plaintiff of this case sought, under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, for the multiplier to be assessed as at the date of death rather than the date of trial.
The judicial decision was that despite the Law Commission..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Caution on overriding limitation
In disallowing an action against a retired solicitor more than eight years after the event, Lord Justice Parker confirmed the ruling of Mr Justice Neuberger in Gold v Mincoff Science &
Gold
that courts should be wary of being too easily..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Vicarious liability for contractor
Seeking compensation for fire damage to property following the removal of fire protection by a contractor from the fireplace of an adjoining semidetached house, the owner of that house was held to have vicarious liability in nuisance and negligence..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Offsite bullying
Although, generally, a school was only responsible for pupils when on the premises, in exceptional circumstances this can extend to the surrounding area. A failure to take reasonable steps to prevent bullying outside the school could give rise to a..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Partner’s costs
In a solicitor’s disciplinary action against one partner of a firm, a tribunal was entitled to make the partner appearing pay all costs even though others may have been at fault.
Singh v Law Society • Queen’s Bench Division..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Vicarious liability of solicitor’s firm
A solicitor’s firm was vicariously liable for the actions of a solicitor in its employ in a plan to misappropriate funds from a pension scheme.
This is with reference to Lister v Hesley Hall Ltd (2001)
so that where an employer is shown as..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Conditions for ban on food import
It is not necessary, when refusing permission to allow import, to show that foodstuffs constitute an actual risk to public health. This decision, regarding a cargo of frozen cooked shrimps from Vietnam, relied on the on-the-spot latitude allowed..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Failure to remedy breaches human rights
It was held that the failure of a water company to take steps to remedy sewage discharge was a nuisance at common law and in breach of the human rights of the applicant, whose home had been repeatedly flooded.
Marcic v Thames Water Utilities Ltd..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Functional or psychological ‘overlay’
Consideration has been given to a condition where a person claims to be suffering a physical injury but doctors are satisfied that the symptoms arise from a psychological state. In two cases at issue – because no psychological case had been..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Limit to grounds of appeal
Where an employment appeal tribunal had allowed appeal, limited to reasonably arguable points of law, it was entitled to reject attempts to raise other issues. This was in a claim originally for unfair dismissal, unfair selection for redundancy,..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Crown Proceedings Act
A provision of the Crown Proceedings Act preventing service personnel from bringing claims, unless they had permission from the secretary of state, for injuries suffered before 1987 was incompatible with the Human Rights Convention.
Matthews v MoD..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Stigma not shown by facts
Although a former employee had the right to seek damages where his employer had failed to conduct business in an honest manner thus spoiling his chances of future employment, a judge was entitled to find, on the facts, that he had suffered no loss..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Guidelines for workplace stress claims
The ordinary principles of employers’ liability applied to claims for injury, whether physical or psychiatric injury or illness, when those injuries are alleged to have arisen from stress at work.
Considering four appeals against awards for..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Will resilient claimant miss out?
Solicitors for Stephen Downing, whom the Court of Appeal cleared of a murder for which he served 27 years – with parole refused because he persisted in claiming innocence – will now be seeking compensation on his behalf.
No one can fail..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Gurka makes equal pay claim
Former lance corporal Hari Thapa, born in the UK and holder of a British passport, is seeking £68,000 in back pay and pension rights from the Ministry of Defence with support from the Commission for Racial Equality.
Like many others he was paid..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Rugby spectator sues
A small rugby club faces a claim for broken knee and other injury from a spectator.
Although he was warned not to get too close to play, Cecil Dredge bases his claim on lack of restraining tape to keep the audience out of range of tackle..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Internees to sue MoD
Government ex-gratia payments of £10,000 to those held in Japanese camps during World War II, extended to ‘British civilians’, has foundered on definition of nationality.
Although 23,000 claims have been met, others have been..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
Art auction houses face group action
Following settlement of US$512mn of US claims against art auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s, UK clients are mounting a similar claim.
Niche UK law firm Class Action plans to bring suit in conjunction with US law firm Cohen,..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002
New York faces rescue claims
While former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is feted in London for his response to the events of 11 September, New York City and site owner Port Authority of New York & New Jersey face personal injury claims totalling US$7.2bn from 1,300 people..
Online Published Date:
01 March 2002
Appeared in issue:
140 - 01 March 2002