MOSCOW, August 28 - RAPSI. The Supreme Commercial Court has registered Russian oil giant TNK-BP's appeal of a ruling denying its $1.5 million claim against Ingosstrakh insurance company, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPS/rapsinews.com) on Tuesday.

In December 2011, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed TNK-BP's lawsuit to recover the insurance indemnity. The appeals instance overturned the decision in May and obligated the insurance company to pay $1.5 million.

In May, the Moscow District Federal Commercial Court overturned the appellate court ruling granting TNK-BP's recovery $1.5 million in insurance indemnity. In upholding the first instance court's decision to deny the oil company's lawsuit, the high court thus granted Ingosstrakh's appeal. Later, TNK-BP submitted an appeal for a supervisory review of the case. The lawsuit was initially filed by Irkol, a Moscow-based entity that maintains an online register for companies. It later requested subrogation for its successor TNK-BP under an assignment agreement.

Irkol insured its liability as a stock market professional with Ingosstrakh on December 23, 2009.

On May 25, Ingosstrakh received recourse from the TNK-BP subsidiary Orenburgneft for 140.6 million rubles ($4.43 million) in damages as compensation for losses inflicted as a result of Irkol's undue performance in maintaining the stockholder registry.
Irkol failed to properly execute its obligations, which resulted in 135,000 preferred shares being withdrawn from an Orenburgneft shareholder's account using false documents.

Ingosstrakh found this to be an insurance case, but Irkol replied that an agreement signed in 2005 setting the payment limit at $1.5 million should be applied. The limit has been paid.

Ingosstrakh stated that the contract regulates legal relations as opposed to a December 23, 2009 agreement under which the payment limit amounts to $3 million.
As the insurance company refused to pay the $1.5 million, a lawsuit was submitted to the Moscow Commercial Court.

Ingosstrakh is a leading Russian insurance company that has been operating on the international and domestic markets since 1947. The company has offices in 220 Russian cities and towns, and subsidiaries and representative offices abroad. Its authorized capital is 2.5 billion rubles.