ECCLESIASTICAL INSURANCE OFFICE PLC AGAINST LADY IAM HAZEL VIRGINIA WHITEHOUSE-GRANT-CHRIST [2015] ScotCS CSOH_23 (19 February 2015)

ECCLESIASTICAL INSURANCE OFFICE PLC AGAINST LADY IAM HAZEL VIRGINIA WHITEHOUSE-GRANT-CHRIST [2015] ScotCS CSOH_23 (19 February 2015)

The insurer's obligation to indemnify prescribed because no relevant claim or acknowledgement was made within five years of the obligation arising. The defender's counterclaim for indemnity and defamation was time-barred, irrelevant, or privileged. The court granted declarator for the pursuers and dismissed the counterclaim.

Citation
[2015] ScotCS CSOH_23
Parties
Pursuer: Ecclesiastical Insurance Office PLC; Defender: Lady Iam Hazel Virginia Whitehouse-Grant-Christ
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
19 February 2015
Procedural Posture
Civil (insurance/contract) / Procedure Roll Debate; Judgment on Prescription and Relevancy
Outcome
Declarator granted for pursuers; counterclaim dismissed; defender's pleas repelled; expenses reserved.
Legal Topics
Material Non Disclosure, Prescription and Limitation, Declarator to Avoid Insurance Policy, Counterclaim for Indemnity and Defamation, Privilege in Defamation, Abuse of Process
Insurance Law Contract Law Civil Procedure Defamation Material Non Disclosure Prescription and Limitation Declarator to Avoid Insurance Policy Counterclaim for Indemnity and Defamation +2 more

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Parties

Ecclesiastical Insurance Office PLC

Pursuer

Lady Iam Hazel Virginia Whitehouse-Grant-Christ

Defender

Procedural Posture

Civil (insurance/contract) / Procedure Roll Debate; Judgment on Prescription and Relevancy

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the insurer's obligation to indemnify under the policy has prescribed under section 6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973
  2. 2 Whether any relevant claim or acknowledgement interrupted prescription
  3. 3 Whether the defender's counterclaim for indemnity and defamation is time-barred or irrelevant

Ratio Decidendi

The insurer's obligation to indemnify prescribed because no relevant claim or acknowledgement was made within five years of the obligation arising. The defender's counterclaim for indemnity and defamation was time-barred, irrelevant, or privileged. The court granted declarator for the pursuers and dismissed the counterclaim.

Court Disposition

Declarator granted for pursuers; counterclaim dismissed; defender's pleas repelled; expenses reserved.

Orders

  • Sustain first and fourth pleas-in-law for pursuer and grant declarator as third concluded for.
  • Sustain first, third and sixth pleas-in-law for pursuer in the counterclaim and dismiss the counterclaim.