Decision ID: 001972

In October 2006 the 1992 Fund Executive Committee recalled that as part of the discovery procedure in connection with the legal action by the Spanish State against the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) before the Federal Court of first instance in New York, the Spanish State had submitted a request to the New York Court to order ABS to produce financial records, arguing that they would demonstrate that ABS had diverted revenue and resources, and that as a result, ABS had not adequately addressed surveyor training and staffing deficiencies. It was noted that the Court had denied the request, stating that the records were not relevant to the issue, that the litigation in question concerned the design, construction, operation, maintenance and inspection of the Prestige and that discovery in this case should be limited to records containing information relating to the allegations in the complaint and the circumstances surrounding the incident.