Ruling on the issue of jurisdiction only, the Frankfurt Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) yesterday found in favour of a claimant who has sued Standard & Poor’s, New York, in the Frankfurt courts for damages suffered in relation to investments in financial instruments issued by Lehman Brothers Inc. The claimant had alleged that he had made these investments in reliance on ratings issued by Standard & Poor’s. Read More
Tag: domicile
Disappearing Defendant
In a judgment published today, the European Court of Justice held that the fact that it is not possible to identify the current domicile of the defendant must not deprive the applicant of his right to bring proceedings.
Hypoteční banka, a Czech bank wanted to sue Mr Lindner, a German national whom the bank has granted a loan. The bank brought proceedings in Cheb, Czech Republic, at the place of Mr Lindner’s last known domicile, since the current domicile could not be established. The bank argued that in doing so, it brought the proceedings before the “court with general jurisdiction over the defendant.” The guardian ad litem to Mr Lindner appointed by the court raised objections to the claim. The Okresní soud v Chebu (Cheb District Court) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: Read More