Maersk Olie & Gas A/S v. Firma M. de Haan en W. de Boer

[2004] E.C.R. I-09657, Case C-39/02 (2004)

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Maersk Olie & Gas A/S v. Firma M. de Haan en W. de Boer

European Union Court of Justice
[2004] E.C.R. I-09657, Case C-39/02 (2004)

Facts

Maersk Olie & Gas A/S (Maersk) (plaintiff) had underwater oil and gas pipelines in the North Sea. A fishing trawler owned by M. de Haan and W. de Boer (the shipowners) (defendants) caused damages to the pipelines. Maersk notified the shipowners by letter that the shipowners were responsible for the damages. The shipowners filed an action in the Netherlands, asking the Netherlands court to place a cap on the damages owed to Maersk pursuant a treaty that limited the liability of owners of ships. The Netherlands court issued an order in favor of the shipowners, limiting the amount of damages that the shipowners were liable for and establishing a liability-limitation fund. Maersk appealed the decision of the Netherlands court, refused to submit a claim for compensation under the liability-limitation funds, and filed a separate action for damages against the shipowners in a Denmark court. Denmark and the Netherlands were members of the European Union. The Denmark court declined to exercise jurisdiction on the ground that Maersk’s action was a prohibited parallel proceeding. Maersk appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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