Bermuda Case Law & Legislation

22 Nov 2016

Andrew A. Martin
In an important decision in November 2016, the Insurance Appeals Tribunal (the “IAT”) published in the press the text of its decision in relation to the jurisdiction to award costs in an appeal from a regulatory decision and appeal to the IAT under the Insurance Act 1978 (the “Act”). Normally in civil litigation the rule is that costs follow the event, and the substantial winner is entitled to an award of costs representing the costs reasonably incurred in the prosecution or defence of the proceedings. The issue arose after the unsuccessful appeal of a party who had been sanctioned by the Insurance Tribunal as to whether the same general rule applied under the statutory formula , which is worded in a wider and more permissive way, allowing the IAT the power to award costs as it “thinks fit” under section 44 D (1) of the Act.
21:23 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Litigation & Dispute Resolution
22 Nov 2016

Andrew A. Martin
This Act was passed in the first quarter of 2016 but has not yet become effective. It is a lengthy Act with a number of separate and detailed statutory mechanisms which work in conjunction with one another. The purpose of the Act is to address a situation where all or part of a bank’s business encounters financial difficulty or is likely to encounter such difficulty. The Act seeks to provide a mechanism for enabling the orderly transfer of the assets of a distressed bank, and the protection of deposit holders’ interests in keeping with international standards.
21:14 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Company & Commercial Law / Litigation & Dispute Resolution
19 Oct 2016

Agathe Holowatinc
As we near the end of the year, it's good to review the bills that have been tabled and passed in the House of Assembly and Senate. This information can be found on the Bermuda Parliament website at www.parliament.bm. More specifically, House bills going back to 2010 can be viewed here, where 2016 bills are listed here. Senate bills going back to 2010 can be found on this page, where 2016 bills are listed here. Below is a snapshot of both:
18:25 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation
29 Sep 2016

Peter D.A. Martin
Background The Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) was enacted on 15 July 2016. However, it is not anticipated to come into force until 2018. This is to provide organisations with time to prepare for PIPA’s implementation. An independent Privacy Commissioner is due to be appointed shortly to assist with this process and ensure compliance with PIPA once it is in force.
15:54 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government
16 Sep 2016

Louise Charleson
It may seem obvious to practitioners that where there is no mortgage on a property, the legal owner is entitled to retain the title deeds to the property. However, it was recently argued in a dispute over whether a deposit could be forfeited by the vendor in a failed property transaction that the purchaser’s attorneys should be permitted to hold onto the title deeds until the vendor returned the full deposit.
19:42 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Property Law
19 Jul 2016

Agathe Holowatinc
A Bill to protect the personal information of Bermuda residents - the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) - has been passed in the House of Assembly. Last year the Government of Bermuda, under the Ministry of Economic Development, introduced a Draft Model Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) that fortified privacy protection rights for all residents. The PIPA Draft Model was sent out for public consultation from July 10th to August 17th, 2015. It covered personal information in both the online and offline environments (ie. filing cabinets), including provisions for the protection of children’s personal information, the use of “sensitive” information such as details about one’s race, religion, sexual orientation, etc, and access to medical records. This very timely and important piece of legislation passed in the House on Friday July 15th.
15:15 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government