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16 May 2019 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7840 / Categories: Features , Insurance / reinsurance , Brexit
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Phoenix in flames: lessons from Pilling

In the first of a two-part series on R & S Pilling t/a Phoenix Engineering v UK Insurance Ltd, Nicholas Bevan considers how EU-derived domestic legislation is likely to be interpreted by the courts post-Brexit

  • An analysis of the Supreme Court’s approach to the statutory construction of non-conforming domestic legislation that is intended to implement EC Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC.

This is the first of a two-part commentary on the Supreme Court’s ruling in R & S Pilling t/a Phoenix Engineering v UK Insurance Ltd [2019] UKSC 16 in which it held that a motor insurer was not liable to indemnify its assured (Mr Holden) when he accidentally burnt down his employer’s premises while attempting a welding repair to his car.

The judgment is highly significant and provides a useful insight into how EU-derived domestic legislation is likely to be interpreted by our courts under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018). It is also the second time this year where the Supreme Court has had to consider the EU law governing compulsory third party motor insurance (see NLJ,

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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