Case C-913/19: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 20 May 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Rejonowy w Białymstoku — Poland) — CNP spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością v Gefion Insurance A/S (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 — Jurisdiction in insurance matters — Article 10 — Article 11(1)(a) — Ability to sue an insurer domiciled in a Member State in another Member State, in the case of actions brought by the policyholder, the insured person or a beneficiary, in the courts of the place where the person bringing the claim is domiciled — Article 13(2) — Action brought by the injured party directly against the insurer — Scope ratione personae — Concept of ‘injured party’ — Business active in the insurance sector — Special jurisdiction — Article 7(2) and (5) — Concept of ‘branch’, ‘agency’ or ‘other establishment’)
Date: 2021-05-20
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: branch, civil liability, claim, enforcement of ruling, insurance company, judicial cooperation in civil matters in the EU, jurisdiction, legal domicile, motor vehicle insurance, third-party insurance








C_2021278EN.01001102.xml










12.7.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 278/11






Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 20 May 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Rejonowy w Białymstoku — Poland) — CNP spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością v Gefion Insurance A/S
(Case C-913/19) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Judicial cooperation in civil matters - Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters - Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 - Jurisdiction in insurance matters - Article 10 - Article 11(1)(a) - Ability to sue an insurer domiciled in a Member State in another Member State, in the case of actions brought by the policyholder, the insured person or a beneficiary, in the courts of the place where the person bringing the claim is domiciled - Article 13(2) - Action brought by the injured party directly against the insurer - Scope ratione personae - Concept of ‘injured party’ - Business active in the insurance sector - Special jurisdiction - Article 7(2) and (5) - Concept of ‘branch’, ‘agency’ or ‘other establishment’)
(2021/C 278/15)
Language of the case: Polish

Referring court

Sąd Rejonowy w Białymstoku

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: CNP spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością

Defendant: Gefion Insurance A/S

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 13(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, read in conjunction with Article 10 thereof, must be interpreted as not applying in the case of a dispute between, on the one hand, a business which has acquired a claim originally held by an injured party against a civil liability insurance undertaking and, on the other hand, that same civil liability insurance undertaking, so that it does not preclude jurisdiction to hear and determine such a dispute from being founded on Article 7(2) or Article 7(5) of that regulation, as appropriate;










2.


Article 7(5) of Regulation No 1215/2012 must be interpreted as meaning that an undertaking which adjusts losses in the context of motor liability insurance in one Member State pursuant to a contract concluded with an insurance undertaking established in another Member State, in the name and on behalf of that undertaking, must be regarded as being a branch, agency or other establishment, within the meaning of that provision, where that undertaking:






—


has the appearance of permanency, such as an extension of the insurance undertaking; and










—


has a management and is materially equipped to negotiate business with third parties, so that they do not have to deal directly with the insurance undertaking.










(1)  OJ C 54, 17.2.2020.