Cour de cassation, First Civil Chamber, 4 November 2010, Levantina de Hidraulica y Motores (Lehimosa) v MM. X - French International Arbitration Law Reports: 2010

Author(s):

Thomas Clay

Philippe Pinsolle

Thomas Voisin

Suhaib Al-Ali

Page Count:

4 pages

Media Description:

1 PDF Download

Published:

February, 2016

Author Detail:

About the Editors

Thomas Clay is Professor in International Arbitration Law in Versailles

University, Director of its LLM in International Arbitration in

collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the only

French-language program in international arbitration. He's also Vice-

President of the University, managing partner of Clay Arbitration Law

Firm, and former Dean of the Law School. Member of the French

Arbitration Committee and of the International Arbitration Institute and

other institutions, Professor Clay is the author of various books and articles

on arbitration, including "The Arbitrator", a treatise on the duties and

obligations of arbitrators, and "Code de" arbitrage commenté”, a

restatement of the French law. He writes a regular column, Arbitration

Law, in the weekly legal journal Dalloz. He also participates in numerous

conferences throughout the world on international arbitration and has an

extensive practice in arbitration, as arbitrator or counsel, in French,

Spanish, English and Italian, collaborating with the ICC, other French

institutions, the Milan Arbitration Court, and in Africa and South America.

Professor Clay is also a member of the Jurisdiction of Professional Soccer

League and Arbitrator in the French Sport Arbitration Chamber. He was

appointed by France to serve as co-arbitrator in the first ICSID Arbitration

against that country.

Philippe Pinsolle is the Managing Partner of the Paris Office at Quinn

Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and specializes in international arbitration.

He has been involved, as counsel or arbitrator, in more than two hundred

and fifty international arbitrations, both institutional (ICC, ICSID, LCIA,

SCC, AFA, Swiss Rules, etc.) and ad hoc, concerning such activities as

investment, oil and gas, energy, telecom or the defense industry. Mr.

Pinsolle is a member of the Paris Bar and of the Bar of England & Wales

(Gray's Inn). He is a lecturer on international arbitration at the Universities

of Aix-Marseille III, Versailles-St Quentin and Paris 12. Mr. Pinsolle is the

former President of the International Arbitration commission of the Union

Internationale des Avocats (UIA) and a cofounder of the Young

Arbitration Practitioners (YAP). He is the author of numerous articles and

case-notes on international arbitration and holds a J.D. degree from the

University Pantheon-Assas (Paris II), a M.Jur. from Oxford University,

Hertford College, and an MBA degree from Essec.

Thomas Voisin is a Partner in the Paris office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart

& Sullivan. He has represented clients in a number of international

arbitrations, both ad hoc (including under the UNCITRAL Rules) and

under the rules of major arbitration centers (ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SCC,

AFA, etc.), with particular focus on investment, energy, and commercial

disputes. His experience includes international arbitrations in the oil &

gas, power, transportation, mining, aviation and chemical sectors. He

graduated from the University Pantheon-Assas (Paris II) and holds an

M.Jur. from Oxford University.

Suhaib Al-Ali is an Associate in the Paris office of Quinn Emanuel

Urquhart & Sullivan. He has intervened on behalf of both States and

Investors before ICSID and ad hoc tribunals, as well as commercial

Claimants and Respondents before the ICC, LCIA, ECA, and the Franco-

German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has degrees from

King's College London, Paris-I Pantheon-Sorbonne, and the University of

Chicago. He is a member of the New York Bar.

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Originally From:

French International Arbitration Law Reports: 2010

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ORIGINAL

REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE

AU NOM DU PEUPLE FRANÇAIS

LA COUR DE CASSATION, PREMIÈRE CHAMBRE CIVILE, a rendu l'arrêt suivant :

Attendu que MM. X... ont confié la construction d'un chalutier à la société espagnole Levantina de
Hydraulica y Motores (société Lehimosa), assurée par la société Catalana Occidente Reg Reas ;
que l'ensemble de propulsion a été fourni par la société Moteurs Baudouin, dont le siège est à
Marseille, assurée par la société Axa France IARD, et mis en place par la société espagnole
Talleres Mecanicos Bacare, assurée par la société Winterthur ; que le 6 septembre 2002, lors
de la livraison du chalutier, la société Lehimosa et MM. X... ont signé une convention de
garantie prévoyant, en cas de litige, l'arbitrage de la capitainerie maritime de Vinaros et, à
défaut, la compétence des juridictions de la ville de Vinaros ; que des désordres étant survenus,
MM. X... ont assigné les différents intervenants et leurs assureurs en responsabilité et en
paiement de dommages-intérêts devant le tribunal de commerce de Marseille ; que la société
Lehimosa a soulevé l'incompétence de la juridiction étatique et, subsidiairement, a revendiqué la
compétence des tribunaux de Vinaros ; que, par jugement du 26 juillet 2005, confirmé sur ce point
par arrêt de la cour d'appel d'Aix-en-Provence du 24 janvier

TRANSLATION

Republic of France

On behalf of the French people

THE COURT DE CASSATION, FIRST CIVIL CHAMBER, rendered the following decision:

Whereas MM. X … entrusted the construction of a Fishing trawler to the Spanish company Levantina de
Hydraulica y Motores (company Lehimosa), insured by the company Catalana Occidente Reg Reas; the
entire propulsion mechanism was provided by the company Moteurs Baudouin, having its headquarters
in Marseille, insured by the company Aza France IARD, and set up by the Spanish company Talleres
Mecanicos Bacare, insured by the company Winterthur; on 6 September
2002, in the course of the delivery of the trawler, the company Lehimosa and MM. X … signed a
guarantee agreement providing, in case of dispute, for arbitration by the maritime captaincy of
Vinaros and, in lieu of this, by the competence of the courts of the city of Vinaros; disorder
having arisen, MM. X … launched proceedings against several protagonists and their insurers in
payment of damages before the commercial court of Paris; the company Lehimosa objected to the
competence of State courts and, in the alternative, argued that the competent courts were those of
Vinaros; In a decision dated 26 July 2005, confirmed on these points by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal on