The Lawletter Vol 42 No 5
Matthew McDavitt, Senior Attorney,National Legal Research Group
By an appeal published July 13, 2016, a British appellate court affirmed an intermediate appellate decision dated October 24, 2014, that had held that vessel fuel stores (colloquially known as "bunkers") expended while a hijacked ship is under the control of pirates during ransom negotiations constitute an allowable general average "additional expense" under Rule F of the York-Antwerp Rules, the industry codification of traditional general average law. Mitsui & Co. v. Beteiligungsgesellschaft LPG (The Longchamp) [2016] EWCA Civ 708, aff'g EWHC 3445 (Comm). This opinion surprised many industry analysts, as it fundamentally expands the scope of the traditional general average law, broadening its scope so as to modernize this legal regime made less applicable as technology has rendered Aclassical@ general average events a rarity. We have prepared a white paper analyzing this development and demonstrating why the Longchamp [2016] EWCA Civ 708 opinion, and its construction of Rule F of the York-Antwerp Rules, is a departure from traditional general average law.
To download this white paper or one of the other complimentary white papers, please visit our Maritime website: http://www.nlrg.com/legal-content. In addition to our complimentary white papers, we have the following white papers available to download for a small charge: Internet Acceptable Use Policies for Law Firms and Other Employers; Employer and Law Firm Website Liability; Measuring Active and Passive Appreciation in Separate Property; Classification, Valuation, and Division of Business Goodwill; Same-Sex Parenthood, Same-Sex Marriage and the Best Interests of the Child.
