Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

English Commercial Court: Reinsurers Seek to Strike Out Chubb/Fidelis Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 Claims over Russia Aircraft Losses, Arguing Subrogation Instead

Published on: 19 March 2026

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

A cohort of reinsurers asked High Court Judge Simon Picken to shut down part of Fidelis and Chubb’s bid to make them fund or share the insurance outlay owed to aircraft lessors, including AerCap Ireland Ltd and Merx Aviation, saying Chubb and Fidelis were attempting to ‘jump the queue’ in the proceedings. Chubb and Fidelis are pursuing AIG and AXA for sums said to arise from a June 2025 judgment in a trial about responsibility for aircraft marooned in Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. That case examined whether the loss of the aircraft engaged war-risk policies, which carry caps, instead of wider all-risk covers. The decision of High Court Judge Christopher Butcher left Chubb on the hook for US$57.6m due to AerCap, while Fidelis has paid US$289.5m to AerCap and Merx under lessor policies, court papers say, as set out in the filings placed before the court. Counsel for AIG and AXA contended they have no obligation to reimburse the insurers under the UK’s Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 (CL(C)A 1978)—the basis for the contribution claims—because their exposure is a debt under Russian law, so the insurers have no claim. Russian law is in point because it stipulates...

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