Jurisdiction under Article 11 (2) of the Lugano Convention
Supreme Court order 24 June 2020, HR-2020-1328-A, (case no. 19-151103SIV-HRET) and (case no. 19-151228SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against order.
I.
Marship MPP GmbH Co. KG, A Line Corporation Trust Company Complex (advokat Andreas Stang Lund) v. Assuranceforeningen Gard – gjensidig (Counsel Herman Steen)
II.
Marship MPP GmbH Co. KG, A Line Corporation Trust Company Complex (advokat Andreas Stang Lund) v. Stolt-Nielsen B.V., Stolt Tankers B.V., Stolt Commitment B.V. (Counsel Herman Steen)
Justices: Møse, Normann, Noer, Bergsjø, Høgetveit Berg
In a large case on insurance liability after a ship collision, as previously dealt with in HR-2018-869-A, the Supreme Court found unlike the Court of Appeal that the phrase "where such direct actions are permitted" in Article 11 (2) of the Lugano Convention must be interpreted to mean that a direct action against the other party's insurance company may be heard at the court of the other party's domicile when such direct actions are generally permitted under the law of the chose state. This condition is as a starting point met under Norwegian law, see sections 1-3 and 7-8 of the Insurance Contracts Act. Decisive importance was attributed to considerations of purpose and systemic considerations, as the wording of the Convention did not give clear answers and contained various nuances in various language versions. Dissenting opinions 3-2.