CLAIMANT IN UK COURT ENTITLED TO ENGINEERING REPORTS OF DAMAGED HIGHWAY COVERED UNDER REINSURANCE AGREEMENT
The UK Commercial Court, Queens Bench Division, recently decided a discovery matter in a reinsurance dispute. The litigation arose out of a dispute under a facultative reinsurance contract, which reinsured claimant Axa Seguros’ participation in an insurance policy covering risks of physical damage to a “Toll Road Network concession” in Mexico. After a hurricane caused damage to a highway, Axa Seguros initiated arbitration and subsequently filed suit against Allianz, seeking indemnity for sums said to be due under the reinsurance contract. Axa sought all reports and associated documents produced by Halcrow, an engineering company hired to inspect the damaged highway. Allianz, for its part, claimed a litigation privilege on the basis that it was obtained and prepared for the purpose of obtaining legal advice in connection with expected litigation. The presiding justice concluded that, although litigation was reasonably expected at the time the reports were made, the reports were not generated for the predominant purpose of anticipated litigation. Rather, they were generated to assess whether the highway had been constructed up to international standards, and to determine what damage had been caused by the hurricane. Accordingly, Axa was entitled to the materials sought. Axa Seguros, S.A. DE C.V. v. Allianz Ins. PLC, 2011 EWHC 268, Case No. 2007 Folio 1396 (Comm. Ct. Q.B. Feb. 3, 2011).
This post written by John Black.
