South Africa and global insurance, financial institutions, banking and general law know–how
In this Massachusetts Appeal Court judgment the court was required to decide whether the costs of repairing or removing construction defects constituted “damages because of… ‘property damage’ ” within the meaning of a commercial general liability policy of a contractor building.
The homeowner experienced problems in the construction of their home by the insured…
According to this 2022 Australian case, an insured person will not be in breach of a reasonable precautions condition if it shows that it did not recognise that a danger existed or that, perceiving the existence of a danger, it took action that it considered to be adequate to avoid it and was not…
This judgment Tassell v TAL Life Limited [2024] NSWDC 301 is a reminder that insurers are entitled to a reasonable time required to investigate the claim in question.
What is reasonable is a matter for objective determination dependant on the facts of each claim. The judgment reviews and gives examples of Australian authority for the…
This blog was co-authored by Thabo Kolele, candidate attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa.
In a May 2024 judgment, the High Court ruled that the defendant did not breach their legal duty to the claimant, whose foot was amputated due to localized sepsis.
On 5 June 2015, the claimant was accidentally stabbed near the…
In this UK case, previously discussed HERE, the reinsurances provided cover “in respect of Property Damage only as a result of Direct Physical loss of or damage to the interest insured”.
The insuring clause indemnified the reinsured against “physical loss or physical damage to buildings and contents” and the Occurrence definition referred to the…
This judgment dealt with a disputed indemnity claimed by the insured in respect of the loss of its warehouse. The warehouse was lost as a result of seizure by the Taliban when US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. By reason of the seizure the insured lost possession and control of the warehouse.
The question…
This blog was co-authored by Brigitte Geyer, candidate attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa.
Absolution of the instance may be granted at the conclusion of a plaintiff’s case in instances where the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case.
In a recent unreported judgment, the Eastern Cape high court granted absolution of the…
In this Covid-19 business interruption judgment [SCA judgment in AIG v 43 Air School and others], the Supreme Court of Appeal maintained its broad interpretation of the insured peril of an infectious disease extension, despite the contrary interpretation adopted by the UK Supreme Court.
The court ruled that the policy provided cover…
In this Covid-19 business interruption judgment [SCA judgment in AIG v 43 Air School and others], the Supreme Court of Appeal clarified the distinction between joint and composite policies of insurance in relation to the multiple insureds of one insurer under one policy.
The policy included an extension which provided cover for interruption to…
Co-authored by Brigitte Geyer
In April 2024, the Bloemfontein High Court confirmed that the life expectancy of a child suffering from cerebral palsy should not be considered to reduce general damages.
In the main action, in 2023, the claimant was awarded R2,400,000.00 in general damages on behalf of their 15-year-old child, the patient, who suffers…
