Law360, London: McGill and Partners said on 9 January 2025 it has launched what it calls the first-of-its-kind war risk reinsurance facility for commercial property in Ukraine to improve understanding and underwriting of risks to assets in the region.

Law360, London: The owner of a portfolio of hotel companies has sued its insurance broker for allegedly failing to arrange adequate cover that would have protected the businesses from losses incurred during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Law360: Vantage Capital Markets Ltd discriminated against a broker by withholding her pay until she completed excessive requirements to prove she was fit to work following cancer treatment, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Law360: An insurance broker has reached a settlement in its attempt to pull a property management company into litigation brought by an investor seeking an insurance payout to cover the costs of rebuilding two properties tied to a fire in Glasgow.

Law360, London: A litigation funder has sued an insurance brokerage for £2.5m, alleging that it advised a property firm to take out a policy that did not provide full cover after a fire at a block of flats in northern England.

Law360, London: A trade body for insurance brokers has urged the UK government to exempt policyholders in apartment buildings with flammable cladding from a tax on premiums, as it seeks to avoid a jump in the price of cover.

Insurance & Reinsurance analysis: This is a Court of Appeal decision on a reverse summary judgment/strike out application in a broker’s negligence case. The case concerned ‘non-owned auto cover’, ie motor liability insurance cover in relation to the hiring of cars. Marsh appealed against the dismissal of its application on two grounds: (i) there was no allegation of actual liability, which was necessary for a claim under a liability policy; and (ii) the losses claimed were irrecoverable as reflective loss. The court dismissed the appeal on both grounds. The case decision highlights the important distinction in terms of causation between a claim under a liability policy, and a claim against a broker for negligently failing to place a liability policy. Written by Louis Zvesper, barrister at Gatehouse Chambers.

Public Law analysis: This case concerned an application for judicial review brought by three claimants (D1914, AAA and AVY) challenging the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s response to the Brook House Inquiry report. The claimants argued that the Secretary of State had failed to adequately implement the inquiry’s 33 recommendations following on from the scandal identified in 2017 of mistreatment of detainees at the Brook House Immigration Removal centre. However, Mrs Justice Lang refused the application on determining that the Secretary of State had not failed to discharge the investigative or systems duties imposed by article 3 of the European Convention of Human rights contrary to section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1988, in not fully implementing all the recommendations of an inquiry which investigated mistreatment at an immigration removal centre. The recommendations had been substantially met, or were in the process of being met, and any decisions not to accept certain recommendations were a reasonable exercise of her executive discretion. Further the court held the Secretary of State had not breached any provision of the Inquiries Act 2005 (IA 2005). Written by Tim Baldwin, barrister at Garden Court Chambers.

UK Finance has announced that two brothers, Benjamin and Jesse Ackim, from South London have received a combined total of three years as a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud and for being in possession of articles in use for fraud. Following an investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, a specialist police unit sponsored by the banking industry, it was found that the brothers had committed £11,428 fraud and attempted another £25,644 of fraud by harvesting bank details from Barclaycard customers and making online purchases. Additionally, officers found equipment at the brothers’ home used to manufacture fake cards.

Dispute Resolution analysis: In a rare successful application to set aside an arbitral award made in an ad hoc arbitration for serious irregularity under section 68(2) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996), the High Court found that a failure to cross-examine a witness on a ‘core issue’ left the tribunal unable to reject the witness’s evidence. Further, it was not open for the tribunal to base its decision on a factual and legal theory of the case that had not been ventilated or addressed by the parties. The decision is a warning to counsel in London-seated arbitrations that a strategy of indirectly undermining a witness’s credibility on a ‘core issue’ may not be sufficient. It is also a warning to arbitrators that the scope of their power to assess evidence, and their power to ascertain the facts and the law (iura novit arbiter) is not unlimited, and may be affected by English judicial approaches to these powers. Written by Oliver Browne, partner, and Bryce Williams, associate, at Latham & Watkins.

Land that is or was occupied by a permanent structure; the opposite of greenfield or virgin land.

A site which has previously been developed for industrial or other urban uses.