The High Court has struck out proceedings brought by Norwegian citizen Arne Vigeland against Zurich Insurance Public Limited Company, ruling that Norwegian courts have exclusive jurisdiction over whether he can be made liable for a costs judgment against an Irish company.
Mr Justice Twomey delivered the judgment on 14 November 2023. The dispute concerned a costs order of NOK 11,349,923.80, approximately €1 million, made against SJI Equities Limited after unsuccessful litigation in Norway. Zurich sought to recover the costs from Mr Vigeland, alleging that he wrongfully caused the company’s parent, SJ Investments Limited, to transfer the litigation to its impecunious subsidiary to evade a costs order. Those assertions were not determined in this judgment.
Zurich obtained a protective arrest order over Mr Vigeland’s assets in Norway in February 2023. It later issued a Norwegian writ seeking to make him personally liable for the company’s costs. Mr Vigeland had started proceedings in Ireland seeking a declaration that he was not personally liable and damages arising from Zurich’s attempt to hold him liable. The Norwegian court stayed Zurich’s substantive proceedings pending the jurisdiction decision.
The High Court considered whether the Lugano Convention gave Norway exclusive jurisdiction over the Irish claim because it was concerned with enforcement of a judgment. The court said the Norwegian costs order against SJI Equities was a “judgment” under the Convention. It also concluded that the Irish proceedings concerned enforcement of that judgment, even though Zurich was seeking payment from Mr Vigeland rather than the company named in the order.
The court held that the Convention’s enforcement exception applied and that, under Article 25, it had no jurisdiction. It ordered the proceedings struck out on that basis. The judgment did not decide whether Mr Vigeland is personally liable for the costs. The court directed the parties to try to agree outstanding matters and provide any proposed order to the Registrar. The case was provisionally listed for mention one week after judgment, if needed.