HAVEN INSURANCE CO LTD V EUI LTD (T/A ELEPHANT INSURANCE)

[2018] EWCA Civ 2494, Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Sir Ernest Ryder, Senior President of Tribunals, Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Lady Justice Nicola Davies, 8 November 2018

Motor insurance - Arbitration - Jurisdiction of arbitrator - Extension of time for commencement of proceedings - Arbitration Act 1996, sections 12 and 67

Under article 75 of the Motor Insurers' Bureau's Articles of Association, the Technical Committee is empowered to give decisions as to whether an insurer is required to provide indemnity to the victim of an uninsured or untraced driver. Article 75 provides for an aggrieved party to appeal to an arbitrator within 30 days of "being notified of the decision of the Technical Committee". A dispute arose between the parties as to liability, and at a meeting on 13 February 2015 it was decided that EUI faced liability. The minutes of the Technical Committee containing the decision were released on 31 March 2015 and EUI gave written notice of appeal on 30 April 2015. Haven contended that the application was out of time, but that argument was rejected by the arbitrator. Haven appealed to the High Court on jurisdictional grounds under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and EUI cross-appealed for an extension of time under section 12 of the 1996 Act. Under section 12 the court may extend time if it is of the view "that the circumstances are such as were outside the reasonable contemplation of the parties when they agreed the provision in question, and that it would be just to extend the time".