A raft of major UK firms are squaring up in the aftermath of the Buncefield disaster, Legal Week has learned, in what promises to spark one of the largest pieces of commercial litigation ever seen in the UK.
City firms Ashurst and Herbert Smith and London practice Davies Arnold Cooper are acting for Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL), the joint venture between Total and Chevron that owns Buncefield Oil depot, on its defence against a series of damages claims that could total more than £1bn. It is understood that more than 300 claimants are lining up to begin proceedings against HOSL after the explosion in December 2005, which has been described as the largest incident of its kind in peacetime Europe.
