Poole Harbour Yacht Club Marina Ltd v Excess Insurance Company Ltd and Ors (The “Sigrid of Chelsea”) - QBD (Com Ct)(Thomas J) - 13 June 1997

Marine insurance - Boatyard indemnity policy - Whether boatyard entitled to recover costs and expenses of defending claim brought against yard by boat owner alleging defective workmanship in relation to work done by sub-contractor

The plaintiff boatyard agreed to refurbish the yacht Sigrid of Chelsea . The plaintiff sub-contracted part of the work related to the engines. The yacht owners subsequently claimed that the work done on the engines was inadequate and declined to pay the final invoice. The plaintiff exercised a lien for the amounts due. The yacht owners subsequently commenced proceedings against the plaintiff. The plaintiff denied that it was liable for the work done by its sub-contractor. The plaintiff paid £37,800 into court, which was accepted by the yacht owners.