NIPPONKOA INSURANCE CO (EUROPE) LTD V INTER-ZUID TRANSPORT BV

[2013] EUECJ Case C-452/12, Court of Justice of the European Union, Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 19 December 2013

Conflict of laws - European Union law - Lis pendens - Action for a negative declaration - Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), article 31(2) - Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, articles 27, 33 and 71

This was the request for a preliminary ruling from a German court. The litigation concerned a claim for damages of €500,000 made by Nipponkoa Insurance Co (Europe) Ltd ("NI") against Inter-Zuid Transport BV ("IZT") by way of compensation for damage suffered as a result of an international transport of goods by road. Goods had been stolen from a lorry waiting overnight to be unloaded at its destination. The claimant, NI, was the insurer of the shipper and sought indemnification from the carrier, IZT, for the claim it had paid out in respect of the lost cargo. However, IZT had earlier obtained a negative declaratory judgment in the Netherlands against the shipper in respect of its liability, which by that judgment was limited to the amount specified by article 23 CMR. NI argued that the limit could be broken by reason of wilful misconduct or default, and that by virtue of article 71 of Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 ("the Regulation") and article 31 CMR, the referring German court had jurisdiction, notwithstanding the lis pendens provision in article 27 of the Regulation.