The Lugano Convention's bankruptcy exception
Supreme Court order 11 November 2020, HR-2020-2175-A, (case no. 20-027402SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
The bankruptcy estate of Alpha Insurance AS (Counsel Henning Harborg) v. A (Counsel Lornts Natrud Nagelhus)
Justices: Skoghøy, Falkanger, Arntzen, Falch, Thyness
An injured employee brought an action in his local court against the bankruptcy estate of the employer's Danish occupational injury insurance company. The District Court refused to hear the case, while the Court of Appeal agreed to hear it. The Supreme Court, having conducted an oral hearing, found with reference to the case law from the European Court of Justice that the action was comprised by the bankruptcy exception in Article 1 (2) (b) of the Lugano Convention, which meant that the Convention was not applicable. It was also stated that actions falling within the bankruptcy exception do not have a sufficiently strong connection to Norway, see section 4-3 of the Dispute Act, and must be brought where the bankruptcy proceedings commenced. The District Court's order was upheld.