Questão jurídica principal
Whether the appeal court judge had to recuse because of the appearance of bias
Decisão extraída
Yes. The combination of the spouse's repeated mandate relationship with F. AG and the brother-in-law's prior involvement in the same accident-related settlement created an objective appearance of bias.
Fundamentação extraída
Although the insurer was not the formal party, F. AG materially handled the claim and was closely connected to the respondent. The spouse's ongoing professional proximity and the brother-in-law's prior participation in resolving the underlying loss meant the judge's close personal environment was sufficiently linked to the dispute.