A hearing will begin today, 5 December 2011, at the Supreme Court into Employers Liability Trigger Litigation, the hearing is expected to last ten days.
The case has reached the Supreme Court following an appeal by BAI* against a judgment made by the Court of Appeal in 2011. Lawyers are hoping that the Supreme Court will provide a quick judgment which will give clarity to all parties in this "important" case.
Helen Ashton, lawyer with Irwin Mitchell specialising in mesothelioma, Asbestos Related Disease and other workplace illnesses, is acting for one of the lead claimants in this case, she commented: "At present this remains a matter for the Court to decide.
"Whilst we are hoping for the judgment to be handed down as swiftly as possible it is more important that, once a decision is reached, it provides clarity once and for all for all parties involved in this very complex case."
In 2011, the three Court of Appeal judges were not able to agree on their position regarding the earlier High Court decision that employers' insurers on risk at the time of exposure were liable to compensate for mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in the workplace. They ruled that in some cases the responsibility lay with the employer's insurer at the onset of the tumour, which can be 50 0r 60 years later in some cases.
*BAI is the former Builders Accident Insurance Company Limited which is in run-off and in scheme of arrangement.
TIMELINE
2.10.2006 - Court proceedings issued out of High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench Division for lead case one, Ruth Melanie Durham.
3-31.6.2008 - Trial at Royal Courts of Justice before Mr Justice Burton
21.11.2008 - Judgment handed down
2.01.2009 - Appeals filed
11 – 23 November 2009 - Court of Appeal hearing before Lord Justice Rix, Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton. Judgment reserved.
08.10.2010 - Judgment handed down at Court of Appeal
03.11.2010 - BAI confirm they will appeal the decision handed down at the Court of Appeal
05.12.2011 - Supreme Court hearing to begin
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