MASSAR V DAS NEDERLANDSE RECHTSBIJSTAND VERZEKERINGSMAATSCHAPPIJ NV

Case C-460/14, Court of Justice of the European Union, 7 April 2016

Insurance (legal expenses) - Scope of duty of legal expenses insurers to pay costs of appointing an independent lawyer - Meaning of "any inquiry or proceedings" - Legal Expenses Directive, Council Directive 87/344/EEC, articles 2 and 4

This was a reference to the CJEU from the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. The assured had a legal expenses policy issued by DAS. The assured's employer applied to the Employee Insurance Agency for permission to terminate his employment. The claimant's request to DAS to fund the appointment of an independent lawyer to represent him at the hearing was refused, on the ground that the assured's right under the Legal Expenses Directive, Council Directive 87/344/EEC, article 4, applied only to "any inquiry or proceedings", and that those proceedings had to be judicial in nature. The CJEU ruled that the assured has the right to obtain the cost of hiring an independent lawyer. The term "inquiry" was not confined to legal proceedings: such an interpretation would deprive the word "inquiry" of its meaning; and it would also run counter to the objective of the Directive in protecting an assured in any inquiry where the assured's legal rights might be affected.