Global, sector-focused law firm HFW represented the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) in the landmark UK Supreme Court case of Halliburton v Chubb.
The Supreme Court’s judgment, which was handed down on 27 November, clarifies the law on arbitrator appointments and apparent bias in situations of ‘multiple appointments with overlap’, confirming that arbitrators are under a legal obligation to disclose circumstances that might give rise to justifiable doubts as to their impartiality.
The LMAA was an intervener in the case, in which Halliburton sought indemnity under an insurance policy it had entered into with Chubb, having been held partially liable by a US court for damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010.
Chubb declined to pay, arguing that the settlement agreed by Halliburton, which provided cementing and well-monitoring services to BP in the Gulf of Mexico, was unreasonable.
HFW’s team included George Eddings, who has since retired from the firm to become an arbitrator; Jonathan Webb; Craig Neame; and Cecilie Rezutka. The firm instructed Nick Vineall QC and Andrew Stevens at 4 Pump Court.
