The High Court has held that personal guarantees signed by the chairman and sole shareholder of a borrower company were enforceable, dismissing arguments that emailing scanned signature pages was insufficient to constitute “delivery”, or that the doctrine of promissory estoppel was engaged to prevent the lender from calling on the guarantees where certain alleged assurances … Read more
A recent High Court decision is a good example of the court’s willingness to deal with questions of contractual interpretation on a summary basis in an appropriate case, without the need for a full trial. However, it also highlights the difficulties that will be faced in successfully striking out a defence based on the common … Read more
The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court’s decision that no incentive fee was payable to a collateral manager in a collateralised loan obligation (CLO) transaction following the exercise of a right of early redemption by the holders of the equity notes: Barings (UK) Ltd v Deutsche Trustee Company Ltd & Ors (Rev 1) … Read more
The Commercial Court has dismissed a challenge to the exercise of options contained in five extendable interest rate swaps which incorporated the 2000 ISDA Definitions: Alfred Street Properties Ltd v National Asset Management Agency [2020] EWHC 397. The challenge was brought on the basis that notice was either not given by a contractually prescribed method … Read more
Since 2015 there has been a series of judgments in which claimant customers have (ultimately unsuccessfully) sought to impose contractual and tortious duties on financial institutions relating to the institution’s conduct of the 2012 past business review into the alleged mis-selling of interest rate hedging products (the “PBR”). The latest decision from the High Court … Read more
With the continuing rise in the number of cases of novel coronavirus worldwide, in addition to obvious implications of the outbreak for individuals, businesses are likely to be exposed to a heightened risk of legal implications arising across their supply chain. In this briefing, Natasha Johnson, Robert Moore and Yasmin Mitha consider the scope for parties to rely on coronavirus as … Read more
The High Court has dismissed the most recent claim to reach trial arising from the actions taken by a lending bank’s restructuring unit following a borrower’s default under a facility agreement during the global financial crisis. The court rejected all claims that the bank failed to discharge its duty to provide lending services with reasonable … Read more
The High Court has struck out claims brought by former investors in the Ingenious Media tax deferral schemes against lending banks who advanced sums to the investors for the purpose of investing in the scheme: Mr Anthony Barness & Ors v Ingenious Media Limited & Ors [2019] EWHC 3299 (Ch). In the context of the … Read more
The Supreme Court has upheld the first successful claim for breach of the so-called Quincecare duty of care: Singularis Holdings Ltd (In Official Liquidation) (A Company Incorporated in the Cayman Islands) v Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd [2019] UKSC 50. The Supreme Court’s judgment in this case follows hot on the heels of the Court … Read more
