Tortious claims against parent companies examined by Bill Davies
- Parent companies domiciled in the UK are increasingly likely to face litigation in the UK courts due to the activities of foreign subsidiaries.
- Separate legal personality and limited liability no defence from traditional principles of tort liability.
- Recent case law indicates that arguments of forum non conveniens are ineffective in this context.
The recent judgment in the case of Lungowe and others v Vedanta Resources PLC and another [2016] EWHC 975 (TCC), [2016] All ER (D) 60 (Jun) is illuminating regarding the potential liability in tort that a parent company in the UK can incur as the result of the activities of a subsidiary domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction. Although the hearing itself was an interlocutory application relating to where the substantive claims should be tried; the dismissal of the applications by Mr Justice Coulson and his reasoning in allowing the litigation to continue in the courts of England and Wales are indicative of the potential ambit of tort claims against parent companies
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