BURNETT V INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF HANOVER LTD (SCOTLAND)

[2021] UKSC 12, Supreme Court, Lord Reed, Lord Briggs, Lord Hamblen, Lord Leggatt and Lord Burrows, 23 April 2021

Insurance (liability) – Personal injury – Coverage for accidental injury – Exclusion for deliberate acts – Meaning of "deliberate" – Whether deliberate act included recklessness – Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010

On 9 August 2013 CG had been drinking at a bar in Aberdeen. He was ejected by JM, a door steward employed by a security company, PS. CG later returned to the bar and confronted JM and two other stewards. JM seized CG by the neck and pinned him to the ground while the police were summoned. When he was released after about three minutes, he was pronounced dead from asphyxia. JM was charged with murder but convicted only of assault, and it was found that JM had not intended to cause injury but merely to perform his duties.