Begum v Maran (UK) Ltd – Court of Appeal (Bean, Coulson and Males LJJ) [2021] EWCA Civ 326 – 10 March 2021

Practice – Summary judgment – Duty of care – Bangladeshi worker suffering fatal accident in course of demolition of vessel in Bangladeshi shipyard – Widow bringing action in negligence against English company responsible for selling vessel for scrap – Defendant applying for reverse summary judgment on basis that no arguable duty of care was owed – Whether arguable that defendant owed duty of care – Whether claim time-barred under Bangladeshi law – Whether claim should be struck out

The claimant was the widow of Mohammed Khalil Mollah (the deceased), a shipyard worker at the Zuma Enterprise Yard at Chattogram in Bangladesh. On 30 March 2018 the deceased was working on the demolition of an oil tanker (the vessel) at the shipyard when he fell to his death.