UK Court grants partial summary judgment on reinsurance claims

In English and American Insurance Company Ltd. v. Axa Re SA, [2006] EWHC 3323 (Comm. Ct. Dec. 20, 2006), the UK Commercial Court of the Queen's Bench Division granted summary judgment to English and American Insurance Company (“EAIC”) on ten reinsurance contracts, pursuant to which a predecessor of Axa Re reinsured EAIC for its participation in insurance of Dow Chemical Company. The losses related to claims relating to Dow's manufacture and sale of breat implant devices and silicone materials. Provisional liquidators had been apponted for EAIC in 1993, and EAIC has been the subject of a scheme of arrangement since 1995. After pursuing its solvent insurers, Dow pursued EAIC, which in turn made claims on its reinsurance. EAIC entered into what the Court described as an interim settlement with Dow, in which in effect recognized that it had a liability to Dow of at least $3,772,760. The scheme of arrangement was paying EAIC's creidtors a dividend rate of 25%. The Court granted EAIC partial summary judgment against Axa Re in the amount of $673,808, an amount which the Court found Axa Re had “no realistic prospect of successfully defending.” Apparently, the litigation will continue with respect to other amounts claimed by EAIC.