Zephyrus Capital Aviation Partners 1d Limited & Ors v Fidelis Underwriting Limited & Ors
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Commercial Court) |
| Judge | Mr Justice Henshaw |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 734 (Comm) |
| Date | 28 March 2024 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Counsel | Stephen Midwinter Kc,Charlotte Tan,Edward Ho,Alistair Schaff Kc,Alexander Macdonald,Frederick Alliott,Matthew Reeve Kc,Joseph England,Christopher Loxton,David Quest Kc,Bankim Thanki Kc,Andrew Neish Kc,Akhil Shah Kc,Susannah Jones,Kate Livesey,Rangan Chatterjee,Nick Daly,Max Kasriel |
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 734 (Comm)
Case No: CL-2022-000637
and the cases listed in Annex A
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
KING'S BENCH DIVISION
COMMERCIAL COURT
Royal Courts of Justice
Rolls Building, Fetter Lane,
London, EC4A 1NL
Date: 28/03/2024
Before :
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE HENSHAW
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
IN THE MATTER OF THE RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT OPERATOR POLICY CLAIMS
(JURISDICTION APPLICATIONS)
Between :
ZEPHYRUS CAPITAL AVIATION PARTNERS 1D
LIMITED and others
Claimants
- and -
FIDELIS UNDERWRITING LIMITED and others
Defendants
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tom Weitzman KC, Michael Holmes KC, Josephine Higgs KC, Philip Hinks, Kate
Holderness, Sarah Martin, Stephen Du, Henry Moore, and Douglas Grant(for all the MLB
Claimants), Stephen Hofmeyr KC (for the Aircastle and Carlyle MLB Claimants), Harry
Matovu KC and Kyle Lawson (for the Avenue MLB Claimants), Alex Milner KC (for the
Voyager MLB Claimants), Robert- Jan Temmink KC and Tom Nixon (for the Merx MLB
Claimants), Chirag Karia KC, Peter Stevenson and Benjamin Joseph (for the GTLK MLB
Claimants) (all instructed by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP)
Stephen Midwinter KC, Charlotte Tan and Edward Ho (instructed by Herbert Smith
Freehills LLP) for the AerCap Claimants
Alistair Schaff KC, Alexander MacDonald and Frederick Alliott (instructed by Clifford
Chance) for the Clifford Chance Claimants
Matthew Reeve KC and Joseph England (instructed by McGuireWoods London LLP) for
Genesis GASL Ireland Leasing A-1 Limited
Christopher Loxton (instructed by Fieldfisher LLP) for the Fieldfisher Claimants
David Quest KC (instructed by Wordley Partnership) for Shannon Engine Support Limited
Guy Blackwood KC, Aidan Christie KC, John Bignall, James Hatt, Tom Bird and Robert
Ward (instructed by Weightmans LLP, DAC Beachcroft LLP, DLA Piper UK LLP and
The Air Law Firm) for the Hull All Risks Defendants
Bankim Thanki KC, Andrew Neish KC, Akhil Shah KC, Susannah Jones, Kate Livesey,
Rangan Chatterjee, Nick Daly and Max Kasriel (instructed by Holman Fenwick Willan
LLP, CMS LLP and Shoosmiths LLP (local agent of Kennedys Legal Solutions Pte Ltd))
for the Hull War Risks Defendants
Hearing dates: 7, 8, 12 and 13 February 2024
Draft judgment circulated to parties: 18 March 2024
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Approved Judgment
.............................
MR JUSTICE HENSHAW
APPROVED JUDGMENT
Russian Aircraft Operator Policy Claims (Jurisdiction)
Page 3
Mr Justice Henshaw:
(A) INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 4
(B) FACTUAL BACKGROUND ................................................................................. 7
(1) Ownership and leasing of aircraft ........................................................................ 7
(2) The insurance and reinsurance contracts ............................................................ 13
(3) Events following (further) Russian invasion of Ukraine ................................... 28
(a) Western Sanctions .......................................................................................... 28
(b) Russian Counter-Measures ............................................................................. 30
(4) Notices of Cancellation of reinsurance ............................................................. 33
(5) Notices of Termination of Leasing..................................................................... 34
(6) Basis of insurance claims ................................................................................... 36
(7) The jurisdiction challenges................................................................................. 37
(8) Settlements ......................................................................................................... 38
(9) The LP Claims pending in the Commercial Court ............................................ 39
(10) Ultimate ownership of the Claimants .............................................................. 41
(C) ISSUES .................................................................................................................. 43
(D) PRINCIPLES: STAYS AND FAIR TRIALS ....................................................... 46
(1) The test ............................................................................................................... 46
(2) Relevance of foreseeability ................................................................................ 51
(3) Degree of likelihood or risk of an unfair trial .................................................... 59
(4) Relevance of whether jurisdiction clause freely adopted ................................... 65
(5) Approach to evidence ......................................................................................... 68
(6) General approach................................................................................................ 71
(E) LIKELY SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES ...................................................................... 74
(F) STATE INTERFERENCE/SELF CENSORSHIP ................................................. 85
(1) The expert evidence ........................................................................................... 85
(2) Influences on the judicial process in Russia....................................................... 88
(a) Dr Gould-Davies’s evidence .......................................................................... 89
(b) Person X’s evidence ....................................................................................... 93
(c) Professor Antonov’s evidence ........................................................................ 95
(d) Mr Pirov’s evidence ..................................................................................... 105
(e) Mr Zubarev’s evidence ................................................................................. 107
(f) (Provisional) conclusions from this evidence ............................................... 107
(3) Financial interest: Russian reinsurers ............................................................... 107
(4) War risks perils: war, invasion and hostilities.................................................. 113
(5) War risks perils: confiscation, seizure etc. and political action ....................... 129
(6) Cape Town issue: validity of Russian decrees. ................................................ 145
(7) Direct/subrogated claims against Russian airlines or state .............................. 147
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