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The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on Friday 26th April, supporting the earlier High Court decision, confirming that Commerzbank must stand by promises made by Dresdner Kleinwort to pay bonuses to London-based bankers prior to its take-over by Commerzbank in 2008.

As has been reported by Reuters, The Telegraph, The Times and many more, the Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the bank’s appeal that it was entitled to break the promises its predecessor had made to the employees. The Court of Appeal found that there was ‘overwhelming evidence justifying the conclusion that this promise was intended to be legally binding’.

The bank argued that significant losses it suffered, and threats to its survival, enabled it to turn its back on the promises it made to the bankers however lawyers who acted for the employees argue that these heavy losses were the very reason a “staff retention plan” had been set up at the bank.

Instructed via the bankers’ lawyers Stewarts Law and Mishcon de Reya, TheJudge successfully secured a multi-million pound litigation insurance policy to support the bankers in their fight, both in relation to the High Court proceedings and in the Court of Appeal action when additional litigation insurance capacity was secured by TheJudge at short notice.

It is an example of how individual clients can take on well-resourced and determined opponents with the protection of an ATE insurance policy and how TheJudge can source large amounts of litigation insurance and funding capacity to support complex group litigation.

If you or your clients are interested in understanding how litigation funding and insurance can be used to hedge litigation costs risk, contact us to find out more.