FLASH
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In a nondescript building near the high court in Dublin, around 40 robed lawyers have gathered almost every day since June last year. At stake are 2.5 billion euros of planes blocked in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Behind multiple screens and a mountain of paperwork they are struggling to determine who should pay for the losses – the lessors of the planes or several insurance companies, including Lloyd's, AIG and Chubb.
The case will drag on for months, with legal fees for the 180 lawyers in court and behind the scenes running into hundreds of millions of euros.
Along with a parallel case being heard at London's high court, it is one of the biggest and most complex commercial cases ever heard.
The megatrials center on claims made by the world's largest aircraft lessors against insurers in relation to losses caused by the grounding of around 400 aircraft in Russia.
Western sanctions forced aircraft leasing companies to cancel their contracts with Russian carriers until March 28, 2022, initially leaving $10 billion (£8.2 billion) worth of assets inaccessible.
Initially, Russia faced demands to return the "stolen" planes, but Moscow refused, prompting legal claims by the lessors.
Many of the planes have been re-registered by Russia without the owners' consent and sold to Russian airlines, with the lessors invoking war risk insurance clauses for their claims.
The world's second and third largest lessors, SMBC and Avolon, as well as BOC Aviation, CDB Aviation, Nordic Aviation Capital and Hermes Aircraft, are among those pursuing their claims in Ireland, where more than 60% of aircraft rented in the world are owned or managed.
Witnesses before Dublin's commercial court last month included the experienced technical manager from BOC Aviation, which leased the planes to Pobeda Airlines, a subsidiary of Aeroflot. In 2022, it filed insurance claims to recover losses after writing down the value of the planes, saying it was unlikely to recover the planes "in the foreseeable future, if ever."
During cross-examination, lawyers representing the insurance firms sought a series of emails from March 2022 that showed BOC Aviation trying to get its planes out of Russia. Email exchanges in the first week of that month showed it seeking parking space for 14 aircraft, including eight 737s, at a Lufthansa facility in the Philippines.
Another exchange suggested that their contacts in Russia should press BOC Aviation's Chinese investors to see if the Kremlin would allow it to repatriate the planes to a "Russian-friendly" country such as Turkey.
BOC Aviation said it would not comment on the dispute but confirmed there were 17 aircraft stranded in Russia; two had been received and there was agreement from Russian insurers for seven others.
The world's largest aircraft lessor Aercap, based in Dublin, can trace its roots to Ryanair founder Tony Ryan's Guinness Peat Aviation, one of the leasing pioneers who made Ireland the center of the global industry.
It is essential in the case of London for the loss of 116 aircraft. Legal action was launched against 16 insurance companies, including Lloyd's of London, Chubb European Group, AIG Europe and Swiss Re, in November 2022.
Aercap, which initially estimated its losses at $3.5 billion (£2.9 billion), has since reached an out-of-court settlement of more than $1.3 billion with insurers but is continuing to pursue remaining claims.
Settlements continue to be made between landlords and insurance companies in the case of Dublin. Just before Christmas, lawyers for SMBC told the judge they had reached an undisclosed settlement with Swiss Re.
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