Examples of High Court in a sentence
While the High Court regarded the Cattolica judgment in 2020 as the starting-point, the Court of Appeal found that time ran once it became apparent that Italian local authorities had worthwhile grounds to make a claim contesting the validity of swap agreements: for example, in the Prato claim referred to above, proceedings had been commenced in 2010.
October 2022: Based on an analysis of Cattolica, the High Court gives judgment3 in favour of Venice on the grounds that: • the swaps were speculative in nature rather than for the purposes of hedging; • the novation fees to Bear Xxxxxxx were an up-front payment, meaning that the swaps constituted indebtedness other than for the purpose of financing investment expenditure; and • as Venice lacked capacity to enter into such transactions, the swaps were void.
Following an appeal by the Banks against the High Court judgment, the Court of Appeal held as follows: • Foreign law matters: The task for English courts toward disputed matters of foreign law was to ascertain what the highest court in the foreign legal system would have decided if the point had come before it, as directed in Dexia Crediop S.p.A. v Comune xx Xxxxx (another swap case previously heard by the Court of Appeal)4.
August 2019: Xxxxx commence proceedings in English High Court, seeking declarations that swap transactions were valid and binding.
The Court of Appeal upheld the finding by the High Court that, in principle, if Venice had a claim for restitution, the Banks had a defence under the doctrine of change of position, meaning that they could argue against restitution where their circumstances had changed detrimentally: for example, as a result of any payments under back-to-back swaps.