Indemnity Insurance Company of North America v. M.V. BBC ONTARIO
- Paul Gardephe
- 1:18-cv-05364
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Indemnity Insurance v. M.V. BBC ONTARIO, Judge Gardephe denied returning the case to the active docket while general-average proceedings continued.
The plaintiffs, BBC, Krey, and the other participants in the ongoing general-average adjustment were affected by the decision to keep the case off the active docket. The order did not resolve the underlying payment dispute.
What happened
Indemnity Insurance Company of North America v. M.V. BBC ONTARIO arose from a 2017 fire aboard the vessel and disputes over payments from a maritime general-average fund. The case had been administratively closed while the fund was being calculated and collected.
The plaintiffs asked the court to restore the case to the active docket and sought permission to add a claim against the vessel owner for a shortfall caused by Siemens-Gamesa's failure to contribute. BBC opposed reopening, arguing that the adjustment and related proceedings, including possible London arbitration, were still underway. Krey said it would respond later.
Judge Paul G. Gardephe denied the plaintiffs' request to restore the matter to the court's docket because the adjustment proceedings were ongoing. He also directed the Clerk to terminate the letter motions pending at Docket Nos. 100 and 101; the endorsement did not separately state a ruling on permission to amend the complaint.
The detailed version
- Indemnity Insurance Company of North America v. M.V. BBC ONTARIO · No. 1:18-cv-05364
- Paul Gardephe
- Sept. 8, 2022
Background
The plaintiffs are Indemnity Insurance Company of North America, General Electric Company, General Electric International, Inc., and GE Energy Products France SNC. The dispute concerns a June 26, 2017 fire aboard the M.V. BBC ONTARIO in Bilbao, Spain. Krey Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. MS “Graf Edzard” KG, identified in the letter as the vessel owner, declared general average and appointed Schlimme & Partners GmbH as the average adjuster.
General average is a maritime system under which participants in a voyage share certain extraordinary losses or expenses incurred to protect the entire venture. Equipment owned by GE and insured by IINA was damaged in the fire. The plaintiffs submitted a claim to Schlimme, which issued a general-average statement on October 22, 2021. The statement said that the plaintiffs were entitled to a net payment of $660,702.32 from the general-average fund.
Collection of the fund remained incomplete because Siemens-Gamesa, a nonparty cargo owner, had not paid its contribution. The letter states that Siemens-Gamesa's contribution was $399,968.96 and that Schlimme anticipated legal proceedings concerning the unpaid amount. The plaintiffs understood that Siemens-Gamesa's general-average security documents called for London arbitration, and that Siemens-Gamesa and BBC were already involved in arbitration related to the voyage.
Requests and opposition
The plaintiffs asked the court to restore the case to the active docket and sought leave to amend their complaint to add a claim against Krey for the shortfall in the general-average contribution. BBC opposed both requests, arguing that the adjustment process was ongoing and that reopening the case would require a stay while collection proceedings in London were resolved. BBC also reserved its rights and defenses concerning any proposed amendment and any additional claim. Krey stated that it would respond in a later letter.
Ruling
In an endorsement dated September 8, 2022, Judge Paul G. Gardephe stated: “In light of the ongoing adjustment proceedings, Plaintiffs’ request to restore this matter to the Court's docket is denied.” The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the letter motions pending at Docket Nos. 100 and 101. The endorsement did not separately state whether the request for leave to amend the complaint was granted or denied.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.