Stonegate Pub Company Ltd v Ms Amlin Corporate Member Ltd & Ors [2022] EWHC 2548 (Comm) (17 October 2022)

Stonegate Pub Company Ltd v Ms Amlin Corporate Member Ltd & Ors [2022] EWHC 2548 (Comm) (17 October 2022)

The number of triggers under the policy depends on the specific insuring clause: for the Disease Peril, each case of COVID-19 at or in the vicinity of an insured location is a trigger; for Enforced Closure, each closure of an insured location is a trigger, but repeated closures without reopening do not create new...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2022] EWHC 2548 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: Stonegate Pub Company Limited; Defendant: MS Amlin Corporate Member Limited; Defendant: Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE; Defendant: Zurich Insurance PLC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
17 October 2022
Procedural Posture
Commercial Insurance Claim / Stage 1 Trial on Preliminary Issues
Outcome
Stage 1 issues determined; partial judgment for defendants on aggregation and government support offset issues; other issues reserved for later determination.
Legal Topics
Business Interruption Insurance, Policy Construction, Aggregation Clauses, COVID 19 Pandemic Losses, Causation, Government Support Offsets
Insurance Law Contract Law Commercial Law Business Interruption Insurance Policy Construction Aggregation Clauses COVID 19 Pandemic Losses Causation +1 more

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 14 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 9
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Stonegate Pub Company Limited

Claimant

MS Amlin Corporate Member Limited

Defendant

Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE

Defendant

Zurich Insurance PLC

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Insurance Claim / Stage 1 Trial on Preliminary Issues

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What triggers coverage under the relevant insuring clauses of the policy?
  2. 2 How should business interruption losses be aggregated for the purposes of policy limits?
  3. 3 Are government support payments (furlough, business rates relief) deductible from recoverable losses?

Ratio Decidendi

The number of triggers under the policy depends on the specific insuring clause: for the Disease Peril, each case of COVID-19 at or in the vicinity of an insured location is a trigger; for Enforced Closure, each closure of an insured location is a trigger, but repeated closures without reopening do not create new triggers; for Prevention of Access, each materially different government action or advice is a trigger, not multiplied by the number of premises. Aggregation for policy limits is determined by the degree of unity in cause, locality, and time, with a significant causal link required. Government support payments (furlough, business rates relief) are to be taken into account for the...

Court Disposition

Stage 1 issues determined; partial judgment for defendants on aggregation and government support offset issues; other issues reserved for later determination.

Orders

  • Business interruption losses to be aggregated according to the court's construction of 'occurrence' and SBIL.
  • Government support payments (furlough, business rates relief) must be deducted from recoverable losses.