Causation: proof of loss

In the November 2012 issue of Insurance Law Monthly there was discussion of the decision of Popplewell J in ACE European Group Ltd v Chartis Insurance UK Ltd [2012] EWHC 1245 (Comm). There were two separate questions in that case: is it possible to establish a proximate cause by eliminating other possible causes; and is inherent vice an available defence where some other proximate cause of the loss is shown?

Popplewell J rejected the first suggestion but found on the facts that there was sufficient evidence to establish the cause of the loss, and he rejected the second suggestion as a matter of law. An appeal to the Court of Appeal, [2013] EWCA Civ 224, has been dismissed, Moses LJ stating his “wish to underline the audacity, if not effrontery, with which the appellants have advanced” the appeal.