Cour de cassation, First Civil Chamber, 17 November 2010, Refcomp S.p.A, v Axa Corporate - French International Arbitration Law Reports: 2010

Author(s):

Thomas Clay

Philippe Pinsolle

Thomas Voisin

Suhaib Al-Ali

Page Count:

4 pages

Media Description:

1 PDF Download

Published:

February, 2016

Author Detail:

About the Editors

Thomas Clay is Professor in International Arbitration Law in Versailles

University, Director of its LLM in International Arbitration in

collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the only

French-language program in international arbitration. He's also Vice-

President of the University, managing partner of Clay Arbitration Law

Firm, and former Dean of the Law School. Member of the French

Arbitration Committee and of the International Arbitration Institute and

other institutions, Professor Clay is the author of various books and articles

on arbitration, including "The Arbitrator", a treatise on the duties and

obligations of arbitrators, and "Code de" arbitrage commenté”, a

restatement of the French law. He writes a regular column, Arbitration

Law, in the weekly legal journal Dalloz. He also participates in numerous

conferences throughout the world on international arbitration and has an

extensive practice in arbitration, as arbitrator or counsel, in French,

Spanish, English and Italian, collaborating with the ICC, other French

institutions, the Milan Arbitration Court, and in Africa and South America.

Professor Clay is also a member of the Jurisdiction of Professional Soccer

League and Arbitrator in the French Sport Arbitration Chamber. He was

appointed by France to serve as co-arbitrator in the first ICSID Arbitration

against that country.

Philippe Pinsolle is the Managing Partner of the Paris Office at Quinn

Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and specializes in international arbitration.

He has been involved, as counsel or arbitrator, in more than two hundred

and fifty international arbitrations, both institutional (ICC, ICSID, LCIA,

SCC, AFA, Swiss Rules, etc.) and ad hoc, concerning such activities as

investment, oil and gas, energy, telecom or the defense industry. Mr.

Pinsolle is a member of the Paris Bar and of the Bar of England & Wales

(Gray's Inn). He is a lecturer on international arbitration at the Universities

of Aix-Marseille III, Versailles-St Quentin and Paris 12. Mr. Pinsolle is the

former President of the International Arbitration commission of the Union

Internationale des Avocats (UIA) and a cofounder of the Young

Arbitration Practitioners (YAP). He is the author of numerous articles and

case-notes on international arbitration and holds a J.D. degree from the

University Pantheon-Assas (Paris II), a M.Jur. from Oxford University,

Hertford College, and an MBA degree from Essec.

Thomas Voisin is a Partner in the Paris office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart

& Sullivan. He has represented clients in a number of international

arbitrations, both ad hoc (including under the UNCITRAL Rules) and

under the rules of major arbitration centers (ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SCC,

AFA, etc.), with particular focus on investment, energy, and commercial

disputes. His experience includes international arbitrations in the oil &

gas, power, transportation, mining, aviation and chemical sectors. He

graduated from the University Pantheon-Assas (Paris II) and holds an

M.Jur. from Oxford University.

Suhaib Al-Ali is an Associate in the Paris office of Quinn Emanuel

Urquhart & Sullivan. He has intervened on behalf of both States and

Investors before ICSID and ad hoc tribunals, as well as commercial

Claimants and Respondents before the ICC, LCIA, ECA, and the Franco-

German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has degrees from

King's College London, Paris-I Pantheon-Sorbonne, and the University of

Chicago. He is a member of the New York Bar.

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Originally From:

French International Arbitration Law Reports: 2010

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ORIGINAL

Attendu que la SNC Doumer, qui avait souscrit une police d’assurances auprès de la société Axa
Corporate solutions assurance (Axa Corporate), a fait exécuter des travaux de rénovation d’un
ensemble immobilier ; que la société italienne Refcomp SPA a fabriqué les compresseurs assemblés
par la société italienne Climaveneta SPA dans les groupes de climatisation fournis par la société
Liebert, aux droits et obligations de laquelle se trouve la société Emerson Network Power
(Emerson), assurée auprès de la société Axa France IARD ; que des désordres étant survenus, la
société Axa Corporate, subrogée dans les droits de la SNC Doumer, a demandé réparation, après
expertise, aux fabricant et fournisseur ; que, devant le juge de la mise en état la société
Climaveneta a invoqué une clause compromissoire figurant dans le contrat la liant à la société
Emerson tandis que la société Refcomp se prévalait d’une clause attributive de compétence à une
juridiction italienne contenue dans ses conditions générales de vente ;

Sur le moyen unique du pourvoi incident :

de cette clause ; qu’en décidant en l’espèce que la clause compromissoire était transmise de façon
automatique en tant qu’accessoire du droit d’action, sans rechercher si, comme l’avait retenu
la décision infirmée, la société
Doumer (subrogée par la société Axa)
avait pu légitimement l’ignorer, la cour

TRANSLATION

Whereas the SNC Doumar, which had subscribed an insurance policy with Axa Corporate solutions
assurance (Axa Corporate), commissioned renovation works in a real estate complex. The Italian
company Refcomp SPA produced compressors assembled by the Italian company Climavenata SPA in the
air conditioning units chosen by the company Liebert, to which the company Emerson Network Power
(Emerson), insured by the company Axa France IARD, is substituted. Disorders having arisen in the
works, Axa Corporate, subrogated in the rights of SNC Doumer, requested compensation, based on
an expert report, to the manufacturer and supplier. The company Climaveneta invoked an arbitration
clause in its contract with Emerson before the pre- trial judge, while Refcomp relied on the
jurisdiction clause of its terms and conditions of sales, which provides for the jurisdiction of an
Italian court.

On the sole argument of the cross appeal:

Whereas the company Emerson challenges the decision (Paris Court of Appeals, 19 December 2009) for
having wrongly overturned the order of the pre- trial judge, which held that the Tribunal of First
Instance of Paris had jurisdiction to hear the claim against the company Climaveneta, and having
advised the