Supreme Court: Widow’s Contractual Claim Against BP Upheld

Braganza (Appellant) v BP Shipping Limited and another (Respondents) [2015] UKSC 17 (18 March 2015) 

This case was heard on appeal from a decision of Longmore, Rimer and Tomlinson LJJ, see [2013] EWCA Civ 230, and it threw up two connected questions of principle: first of all, the meaning of the general requirement that the decision of a contractual fact-finder must be a reasonable one; and secondly, the proper approach of a contractual fact-finder who is considering whether a person may have committed suicide. On 11 May 2009, Braganza disappeared between 1am and 7am, while on duty as the chief engineer on the British Unity (an oil tanker in the mid-North Atlantic managed by BP). The Court of Appeal was of the view that Braganza, an Indian national, had thrown himself overboard to commit suicide. Consequently, his widow, Mrs Niloufer Braganza, was precluded from receiving death benefits under her husband’s contract of employment, which contained a clause that compensation would not be payable if “in the opinion of the Company or its insurers, the death … resulted from … the Officer’s wilful act, default or misconduct”.

The question for Lord Neuberger PSC, Lady Hale DPSC and Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson and Lord Hodge JJSC concerned the proper test for the court to apply when deciding whether BP was entitled to reach the opinion that it did. Geared towards improving its systems, BP’s own inquiry about the disappearance identified six factors supportive of suicide and concluded that the most likely scenario was that Braganza deliberately jumped overboard. The six points related to (i) his behaviour being notably different on the voyage involving his disappearance than on previous voyages; (ii) the shoes and sandals he usually wore on board were found in his cabin after his disappearance; (iii) e-mail messages received from his immediate family suggested that he had some family and/or financial difficulties that were causing him concern; (iv) he was not aware, before joining the ship, of its status and reputation and was reported to be unhappy about this