Sun Insurance takes the state to court

Sun Insurance Company Limited instituted proceedings in the High Court to seek judicial relief for the uncompensated deprivation of its property, following the commencement of the Accident Compensation Act enacted by Parliament last year.

SUN claims that the repeal of the Motor Vehicles ( Third Party Insurance ) Act 1948 effectively extinguished the CTP insurance business it had conducted for the past 18 years.

The company says during 2016, SUN had captured over 46.09% of the CTP insurance business market in competition with four other insurances companies.

They say under the scheme established by the Accident Compensation Act, the State now operates substantially that same business as a statutory monopoly.

Sun has applied for judicial redress for various contraventions of the Bill of Rights embodied in Fiji’s 2013 constitution, which prohibit not only the uncompensated deprivation of property but also the acquisition or expropriation of SUN’s proprietary interest in its established CTP insurance business.              

The Attorney General is named as the defendant to SUN’s actions, as the state’s legal representative.

SUN says that on the 1st of this month, their solicitors, Messrs A K Lawyers notified the Attorney General’s chambers that they had filed suit.

They say that through their solicitors, they have made it emphatically clear that the constitutionality of the new legislation is being tested to protect its purely commercial interests and no sinister motive should be presumed for SUN’s legitimate pursuit of legal action to vindicate its rights granted and guaranteed under Fiji’s 2013 Constitution.

SUN says by sheer coincidence, news reports surfaced thereafter about an ongoing investigation of SUN’s CEO Lolesh Sharma by FICAC concerning remarks he may or may not have uttered during a confidential meeting with SUN’s staff about the commercial challenges facing the company after the legislative extinction of its CTP insurance business.

They say they do not wish to speculate on the reasons for the media’s sudden interest in the activation of the FICAC investigation.

SUN says their solicitors have communicated with FICAC to ascertain the factual background to their investigation and confirm its current status. 

The state was represented by Solicitor General Sharvada Sharma.

Sharma has indicated that he is instructed to apply for SUN’s challenge to be struck out and will be serving the papers when issued.

The matter has been adjourned till the 5th of next month.