Hermès Marangos

Experience

Representative Political Violence work experience

• Advising European reinsurers and US counsel as expert co-counsel on the Liberian Civil War and litigation on the meaning of war, insurrection, civil commotion and riot losses and on supervising evidence and expert and contemporaneous testimony on the genesis and escalation of the civil war. Forensic and historical analysis leading to the Liberian Civil War.
• Advising reinsurers following the assassination of Premier Benazir Bhutto in Lahore in Pakistan and the applicability of terrorism and political violence exclusions. Forensic issues concerning evidence on bomb attacks and explosions and subsequent riots.
• Advising major reinsurers on involvement of terrorists in bank robberies in Colombia and analysis of distinctions of terrorism acts versus acts of terrorists or participation of proscribed individuals in disturbances and membership of criminals in proscribed terrorist and drug dealing organisations.
• Advising on the Intifada and uprising, civil commotion, violent riots in Israel and the Occupied Territories. On local versus international provisions on terrorism and state security.  Including on distinctions between criminal activity legislation and insurance regulations.
• Advising on the legal position of convoy attacks in coastal towns and applicability of political violence provisions in relation to the civil war in Colombia.
• Advising on sabotage attacks on petroleum company installations pipelines and storage facilities in the Ogoni region in Nigeria.
• Arbitrating on State related industrial losses following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, including mass looting and wanton destruction in Kuwait.
• Advising on riot related losses in Indonesia and insurance provisions interpretation and government pronouncements on the Red Shirt movement.
• Advising on insurance disputes relating to the coup d’état and political violence in Haiti. On the chronological trajectory and conclusions under the Spinney’s guidelines.
• On war and terrorism related disputes following the Israel Lebanon war and the actions of Hezbollah, starting with the abduction of Israeli border guards, leading to he commencement and escalation of hostilities.
• On the impact of the Israeli Defence Force operations and embargo in Jericho and losses at hotel and casino operations and property and business interruption covers.
• On the meaning and applicability of civil commotion/riot/looting provisions and aggregation and hours clauses position and inter-play if any with riot provisions to losses following Katrina and  major floods and earthquakes.
• On advising on the St Mary Axe, IRA bombings and the resulting legislation and set up of Pool Re.
• On advising major reinsurers on the applicability of war and terrorism provisions and Riots Strikes and Malicious Damage Sub-Limits to the “World Trade Center”
• Advising and providing professional training workshops across Europe to major insurers and reinsurers on the various Political Violence/Societal risk wordings and war and terrorism exclusions, including on the operation and efficacy of Riots, Strikes and Malicious Damage sublimit.
• On advice to major insurers and reinsurers on the new set of exclusions and applicability based on NMA2918-2921.
• Advising on attacks by Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement on the Peruvian army and nature and definition of political violence.
• Advising on appropriate wordings for chronic civil war and continuing industrial and factory losses in Beirut.
• On riot wordings and “interpleader” issues between terrorism provisions and all risk covers in Hong Kong and violent anti-government protests, including on advising on economic versus political riots interpretation as applicable to Lloyds wordings.
• Representing policyholders on terrorism related losses following attacks in London and Paris.  Proceedings in relation to the London Bridge and Westminster Bridge and Parsons Green attacks.

Representative International Disputes work experience

• Advising reinsurers under a CAR/EAR cover in relation to a series of losses to an extension of an existing oil refinery which included a water canal diversion project forming part of preparatory works in Colombia. Advising specifically on issues of pre-existing damage, non-disclosure, concurrent design and construction causation, gradual deterioration, mitigation of loss obligation and want of due diligence.
• Advising US and Canadian insurers in relation to coverage issues under an All Risk Policy arising out of physical damage to a drilling rig owned by a Canadian corporation during operations in Brazil. Advising in particular on issues of placement, definition of insured and property insured, the test required for want of due diligence and subrogation.
• Advising reinsurers under an EAR cover including Delay in Start-up in relation to damage to an electrical generator which was to be used in a project for the conversion of two existing gas turbines in Bolivia. Advising on spoliation of evidence issues arising from refusal to grant access on-site, assessing whether the insured’s conduct in the measures it took to test the generator prior to start-up satisfied the obligation to take reasonable precautions, advising on the effect of a false declaration by the insured, wilful negligence, potential subrogation actions against German manufacturer and on the Bolivian law and political angle.
• Advising reinsurers under a CAR cover in respect of damage due to water leakage to a sulphur combustion furnace boiler in a sulphuric acid plant in Chile. Advising inter alia on possible subrogation action against manufacturers in China, technical analysis of the processes involved in the production of sulphur to identify root cause and exclusion of proportion of costs under LEG wordings.
• Advising on a major reinsurance dispute involving a mining operation disrupted due to flooding with multiple claims following property damage and business interruption, as well as on issues of recoverability of expenses and alleged obligations of reinsurers to indemnify non-contractual and other punitive losses, c. £300m in value.
• Advising on major international construction disputes involving LEG 2, LEG 3 and operational issues affecting large-scale construction contracts / EAR in West Africa and the Middle East, including firefighting obligations, mitigation and BI calculation methodology, c. £40-50m in value.
• Advising on various Caribbean claims involving failed turbines and coverage under operational policies for damage and business interruption claims, including issues of applicability of foreign law and competing jurisdictional provisions, c. US$50m in value.
• Instructed by major UK reinsurers under an All Risks policy concerning a significant theft of electronic devices in Mexico, involving complex issues of employee infidelity.
• Advising London Market and US reinsurers on high-profile and complex D&O coverage issues in Brazil in connection with a class action brought in the US and an Insured v Insured claim in Brazil.
• Advising London market underwriters in connection with a group action arising from complex claims before the Brazilian Appellate Courts, arising out of cattle feeding programmes.
• Advising reinsurers on major mining damage and business interruption claims in Mexico involving extra contractual and loss of opportunity to pursue civil law arguments under Mexican, US and UK law.
• Advising reinsurers on TPL claims under a product liability programme for engineering fleet vehicles, with parallel proceedings in the UK and Switzerland, involving English, Swiss, German and US law issues.
• Representing London market and European insurers on power plant disputes involving turbine failures and fires in West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
• Representing London market and European reinsurers in proceedings in Turkey, both in property/engineering disputes involving the application of sub-limits and first-loss reinsurance arguments, and in product liability disputes involving defective building materials allegations and arguments on financial law and efficacy exclusions.
• Advising on an ICC arbitration brought by an Argentinean EPC contractor relating to the design and construction of a marine oil terminal.
• Representing London reinsurers in multiple claims in Argentina, including class actions and major energy losses.
• Advising reinsurers on machinery collapse and turbine failure and consequent BI issues.
• Advising a London market reinsurer on complex proceedings brought directly against them by the insured in the Brazilian courts.
• Advising worldwide insurers in connection with a multiple-fatality accident at a Barrick Gold Corporation mine in Chile in 2000.
• Advising Miami insurers in connection with multi-claimant litigation involving pollution caused by a water treatment plant installed in Santiago de Chile.
• Advising London market reinsurers on a pollution claim brought by the government of Colombia against the Colombian National Oil Company, c. $1.7bn in value.
• Advising Lloyd’s syndicates in connection with a dispute relating to a collapsed road bridge in Mexico.