(152)  Piper Alpha

The House of Lords has affirmed the decision of the First Division of the Court of Session (2000 SLT 1123) in the case, Caledonian North Sea Ltd v London Bridge Engineering Ltd, The Times 14 Feb 2002, 2002 GWD 6-177, 2002 SLT 278.  The House held that contractual indemnities were primary obligations, and that other insurance arranged by a party without obligation to do so was res inter alios acta.  One party’s voluntary decision to insure should not operate to the advantage of the other party against whom a contractual claim for indemnity was made.  There is also discussion of the meaning of the exclusion of indirect and consequential loss from the scope of the indemnity; held that this did not cover matters of mere quantification of loss such as the excess above the Scots law value of the claims in reaching the mid-Atlantic settlement with injured parties.