I am in tidying up mode clearly for my goodness I have way too many windows open on various browsers. And as always: Bloggo, ergo sum. (Or at the least: when I blog and /or Tweet the cases seem more firmly lodged in my memory). In FDI v Barclays & Ors [2022] EWHC 391 (Ch) defendants applied successfully for a case management stay to allow for clarification of the position in parallel US multi-district litigation (‘MDL’) proceedings (started earlier) involving the LIBOR fixing rate scandal. The confusion seems to be about what US jurisdictional decisions in those proceedings mean against at least some of the defendants in the UK proceedings.
The UK proceedings were started pre-Brexit. One assumes therefore that the decision takes full advantage of the wedge that exists between a procedural, case management stay and a full-blown jurisdictional decision. The latter surely needs to be discussed under Brussels Ia, including its Articles 33-34 forum non-type mechanism, lest one were to argue res judicata which, if the US Proceedings have not moved beyond jurisdictional decisions, is unlikely.
The judgment also indicates that a further CMC – Case Management Conference will be held in October. One looks forward to further development there.
Geert.
gavc law - geert van calster 