Legal history in the making

I've been having a bit of innocent fun this week. Some might say it's all about being a champion of the plucky consumer, but that might be a little boastful. It's fair to say I've been delighted to play a tiny role in a small story that has potentially far-reaching consequences.

Let me explain. There's a bit of European legal history in the making because of the actions of one consumer and his lawyer. The huge, global, Paris-based insurer, AXA, is being brought to court by one of its English policyholders over a home insurance claim regarding a contract signed in Nice. The dispute concerns the amount payable for damage to the claimant's second home, in the south of France, which was burgled and vandalised twice in the space of a few months. The claimant's principal home is in London – which is an important element in the story.

So where's the excitement in a bit of small-time litigation? Isn't a dispute over quantum in a household insurance claim just about as dull as it gets? Well, it would be, except that the complaint is being brought forward in a minor civil court in the London area. Imagine completely interchangeable jurisdictions in the UAE. You have a grievance against someone? You can choose any UAE jurisdiction to launch a legal complaint against that person? Unrealistic and unwieldy, surely...

Well, yes, but that's theoretically possible in Europe – despite the lack of political and economic cohesion in this continent. But the legislation of the European mandarins pretends otherwise. It is way ahead of the mundane, pedestrian realities of the world we all actually live in.

The lawyer for the plaintiff in the AXA case is Francois Vainker, a Brit who is admitted to the French bar and practices law in the south of France. Vainker is exploiting the theoretical rights under an EU directive allowing litigants the freedom of choice of jurisdiction as outlined above: "We think it's the first time anyone's made use of a European directive that allows a litigant to choose his preferred jurisdiction within the EU," says Vainkeur. "We initially offered AXA a trial in the south of France, but didn't get a satisfactory response. So we thought we'd make it easier for my client."

The ramifications of this case are manifold. On a consumer level, it could create real problems for international businesses. In the case of AXA, Brits with first or second homes in France (there must be 500,000 of them) might fancy taking the company to court in their backyard jurisdictions if the policyholders do not fancy working the French machinery of justice. But AXA is one of scores of truly international financial services companies in Europe. Marketing folk often refer to the notion of the affluent consumer "out there" in middle Europe as the Belgian Dentist. The Belgian Dentist may be apocryphal, but if not, we may soon find out. I, for one, will be looking out for instances of big British asset managers and financial service providers being sued in Bruges and Brussels.

And then there's the public relations angle. Plucky Belgian Dentist sues Berlin office of giant German insurer Allianz in local Flanders court. Is that appealing to journalists? You bet it is. Every bit as appealing to the hacks as it is appalling to the external communications departments of the big companies. At least, I think that's the case. I think this story is of general public interest – which is why I feel it's my job to write about it. We'll see if others think I'm right.

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