Product Liability Insurance - Scope of Cover

(John Wyeth and Brother Ltd v Cigna Insurance Co of Europe SA/NV [2001] EWCA Civ 175, the Court of Appeal, on 9 February 2001 ([2001] Lloyd’s Rep IR 420))

The Court of Appeal, on 9 February 2001 ( [2001] Lloyd’s Rep IR 420 ) delivered its ruling on the appeal from two decisions of Langley J in John Wyeth and Brother Ltd v Cigna Insurance Co of Europe SA/NV [2001] EWCA Civ 175. The first of those judgments, dated 18 April 2000, set out Langley J’s conclusions on a variety of preliminary issues relating to the construction of product liability covers. The second of those judgments, dated 13 November 2000, was concerned with apportionment of defence costs. Langley J’s decisions were both upheld. The first of his decisions was considered in some detail in the January 2001 issue of Insurance Law Monthly . While much of the judgment is devoted to the construction of the terms of the contracts involved, there are important general comments on the principles to be applied to the apportionment of defence costs between insured and uninsured claims: it might be thought by some that the approach adopted is generous to policy holders.