SW Traders LLC v United Specialty Insurance and Anr (The "Pacific Dawn") - US Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)(Fletcher, Fernandez and Bybee Ct JJ) - 18 November 2010

(2011) 817 LMLN 4(2)

Marine insurance - Uberrimae fidei - Failure to disclose true owner of vessel - Whether policy void at inception for non-disclosure

The appellant, SW Traders LLC, appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favour of the appellee insurers. The appellant had sought to recover payment under an insurance policy in respect of losses sustained by the vessel Pacific Dawn on her voyage from Vancouver to Hawaii. The district court had granted summary judgment in favour of the appellees, holding that the insurance contract was void at its inception under the doctrine of uberrimae fidei.