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Grenfell cladding company accused of using French laws to prevent the release of key documents
The company which made the cladding panels for Grenfell Tower has been accused of using French laws to prevent the release of key documents in a multimillion-dollar US lawsuit, by lawyers acting for the survivors of the fire.
Arconic is being sued in the US along with fridge company Whirlpool and insulation manufacturer Celotex for its role in the blaze which killed 72 people in June 2017.
Documents seen by Inside Housing show the court has been asked to rule on whether or not Arconic should release documents collected from Arconic Architectural Products SAS (AAP SAS) – the French company which sold the panels for use on Grenfell Tower.
Lawyers for Arconic say the company is simply complying with French law.
Arconic’s Reynobond PE 55 cladding panels were used in the exterior of the cladding system on Grenfell Tower.
They comprised two thin sheets of aluminium and a core of polyethylene – a plastic which melts and burns in a fire and has been compared to solid petrol by experts.
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The public inquiry in the UK concluded the panels were the primary cause of the spread of flames up the tower and said the cladding system breached building regulations in its first phase report last month.
In the US litigation, Arconic says it cannot release the documents because of the ‘French blocking statute’ – a French law which prohibits the disclosure of documents for use in foreign legal proceedings.
But lawyers for the survivors have argued this should be irrelevant to the case, citing previous US Supreme Court findings on the matter and the fact that the documents have already been transferred to an Arconic database in the US.
In a submission challenging Arconic’s refusal, they add the French law has only resulted in one prosecution in 40 years and no party has ever been sanctioned for disclosing documents in US proceedings.
Lawyers for the survivors said: “It is clear that the French blocking statute does not prohibit Arconic from producing documents responsive to plaintiffs’ requests that are housed in the US in this US-based litigation.”
Lawyers for Arconic argued that it is not choosing to invoke the statute, but AAP SAS is required to abide by it as a matter of French law. AAP SAS is not a party to the litigation.
In a statement, Arconic said: “We continue to co-operate with the official UK investigations into the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
“In the US litigation, we are providing documents from the US companies, but we must respect French legal requirements and restrictions regarding documents from AAP SAS, as AAP SAS, the company which sold its product as one component of the overall cladding system used on the Grenfell Tower, is a French company.”
Lawyers for the survivors in the US case also objected to Arconic’s refusal to provide a ‘privilege log’ – a list of documents held by the company which cannot be released for reasons such as being part of confidential legal advice.
“This would allow Arconic to shield documents it deemed to be damaging on the basis of privilege without ever disclosing the existence of the document or stating the basis of the privilege assertion,” the lawyers said.
In its submission, Arconic said the “large number” of privileged documents meant they should not be forced to review all of them for relevance to the case at this stage.
The court is due to make a ruling on these matters in due course.
The companies are being sued in the US for punitive and compensatory damages relating to wrongful death. Damages could run into hundreds of millions of dollars if the case succeeds.
Arconic is a giant multinational company, based in the US. It was originally founded in 1886 as the Aluminium Company of America, and turns over close to $14bn worldwide.
