OÜ McKenzie Invest’s years-long dispute with the Swedish insurance company ended successfully

OÜ McKenzie Invest’s years-long dispute with the Swedish insurance company ended successfully.

As a result of the court proceedings, OÜ McKenzie Invest reached an important compromise in the dispute with the Swedish insurance company. OÜ McKenzie Invest was successfully represented by Managing Associate Kaidi Reiljan-Sihvart.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Sweden (Allianz) submitted a recourse claim against OÜ McKenzie Invest, in relation to the fire in the Rocca al Mare shopping center on 19.02.2018, demanding compensation for the insurance compensation paid to the shopping center and additional costs related to the dispute.

The litigation lasted from the beginning of 2020 and included both important evidentiary proceedings and a wide range of significant legal issues, including the conditions for the transfer of the right of claim to the insurer according to Swedish law, the prerequisites for a claim for compensation and the related burden of proof, and the grounds for reducing compensation.

As a result of the dispute, the county court rejected Allianz’s lawsuit to the extent of more than 90%. The district court did not change the resolution of the county court’s decision.

The courts agreed with OÜ McKenzie Invest’s position that in this case there are grounds for a significant reduction of the compensation, as the damage was partly caused by circumstances arising within the shopping center itself – a fire damper preventing the spread of fire was not installed between the shopping center’s exhaust ventilation and the tenant’s kitchen ventilation, and the shopping center also had an unsuitable heat recovery ventilation system for its large kitchens.

Before the judgments entered into force, the parties reached a judicial compromise to end court proceedings whereby Allianz waived the lawsuit filed against OÜ McKenzie Invest, and each party bore the costs of the proceedings themselves.