OLG Karlsruhe; 2021-08-20; 12 U 155/21
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:OLGKARL:2021:0820.12U155.21.00
Date: 2021-08-20
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82021DE0820(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
A joint-stock company domiciled in Slovakia (hereinafter the ‘plaintiff’) who acted as a provider of liability insurance, sought settlement against a liability insurance provider domiciled in Austria (hereinafter the ‘defendant’).
The plaintiff provided insurance for a tractor unit with a Slovakian licence plate which was connected to a semi-trailer with an Austrian licence plate insured by the defendant. The pair of vehicles were involved in an accident in Germany. The plaintiff settled the full amount of the incurred damage to the injured party.
The plaintiff unsuccessfully demanded that the defendant pay half of the paid amount as an internal settlement between the two insurers. The defendant contested the international jurisdiction of German courts arguing that neither was German law applicable for the settlement of the amount between multiple insurers nor had the preconditions for the settlement been met as the insurance of the defendant did not provide cover for the respective case.
The Landgericht Mosbach (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) upheld the action to its full extent.
The appeal of the defendant lodged with the Oberlandesgericht Karlsruhe (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) was not successful.
The Court of First Instance correctly established its own international jurisdiction under Article 7(2) of the Brussels I Regulation (1). In addition, it was also correct to have confirmed the plaintiff’s right to be paid half of the amount it paid to the injured party as an internal settlement between insurers under Article 78 of the VVG (2) in its version valid up to 16 June 2020. The German substantive law was applicable to the inner relation between the plaintiff and the defendant. The preconditions for the settlement between two insurers have been met. The tractor unit and the semi-trailer formed one operational unit.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of the defendant against the decision of the Court of First Instance.
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.
(2) Gesetz vom 23. November 2007 über den Versicherungsvertrag (Insurance Contract Act).