The Court of Appeal (the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, and Carr LJ) today unanimously upheld Cockerill J’s decision to dismiss UBS’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the English courts over claims worth some US$495 million which have been brought against UBS in relation to financing it provided for the acquisition of shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Court of Appeal concluded that the appeal should be dismissed on all grounds, finding that Cockerill J was right to hold that the English courts have jurisdiction over the claims under both article 5(3) and article 5(5) of the 2007 Lugano Convention. In relation to the application of article 5(3), the Court considered that the conclusion reached by Cockerill J was ‘the only one that could sensibly have been reached’. In relation to the application of article 5(5), the Court considered that key question was whether UBS’s London branch ‘actually participated in some of the actions constituting the tort of negligent misstatement’ and concluded that Cockerill J was right to decide that the ‘essential parts of the claims in this case arose out of the actions of UBS London’.
A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2023/222.html
Harcus Parker, instructing Sa’ad Hossain KC, Sebastian Isaac KC, and Matthew Hoyle of One Essex Court, acted for the successful Second Respondent to the appeal (the other Respondent not appearing and not being represented).
Firm contacts:
Jennifer Morrissey: jmorrissey@harcusparker.co.uk
Edward Argles: argles@harcusparker.co.uk