Cases - Leyland Shipping Co Ltd v Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Ltd
Record details
- Name
- Leyland Shipping Co Ltd v Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Ltd
- Date
- [1918]
- Citation
- AC 350
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Insurance - shipping – causation – concurrent causes – novus casus interveniens
- Summary
-
In this case a ship was torpedoed by a German submarine and was subsequently taken to Le Havre in France for repair. The ship was badly damaged and was taking in a lot of water. While she was in the deep-water harbour, the ship was moved from one quay to another, for fear that the ship might sink and disrupt the activities of the Red Cross at that quay. The sea conditions were rough, though not exceptionally so. While being moved, the ship broke up and was lost. The question for the House of Lords was what caused the losses arising from the ship sinking. Was it the war action for which the owners were not insured, or the perils of the sea, for which the owners were insured? It was held that the ship sank because it was torpedoed, and that the losses were not recoverable from the insurers. Lord Shaw stated:
'Where various factors or causes are concurrent and one has to be selected, the matter is determined as one of fact, and the choice falls upon the one to which may variously be ascribed the qualities of reality, predominance, efficiency'.