Chevron

Client: Chevron
Practice areas involved: dispute resolution,
energy, insurance and reinsurance
Value: claims exceed £1 billion

The explosion in December 2005 at the Buncefield Terminal owned by Chevron and Total made headlines around the world. It was the biggest explosion in Europe since the Second World War and led to claims from 4,000 individuals and businesses exceeding £1 billion.

Herbert Smith is one of five firms on Chevron’s panel of external legal advisers and our exceptional reputation for contentious and litigious work and our strength in the energy sector made us a clear choice to advise the American business.

In June 2008 Total and the joint venture company, Hertfordshire Oil Storage Limited, admitted that much of the damage could have been foreseen, exposing themselves to significant payouts. We have been advising Chevron on every aspect of the civil and criminal proceedings that the explosion has given rise to. Four of our partners are preparing for the court case that is scheduled to begin on 1 October 2008: Ted Greeno and Caroline Kehoe of our dispute resolution practice and Howard Watson and Martin Bakes of the insurance and re-insurance litigation practice. They are assisted by six associates and a number of trainees.

The trial is expected to last 11 weeks and will be remarkable not just because of the scale and nature of the claims, but because of the legal talents involved – arguably the country’s three top commercial QCs will be in court together.