The fallout from the credit crunch has reached the high court, with “big-ticket” commercial claims jumping by more than ten per cent in the last year.
The number of claims for more than £25,000 in the high court rose to 3,090 in the final quarter of 2009, up from 2,799 in the previous year.
Geraldine Elliott, partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, says: “The number of big-ticket commercial court claims climbed rapidly last year.
“Many of these cases are going to make a real difference to the future of the businesses that are involved, because the amount at stake can be so high. A significant number of the claims now coming into the UK courts are likely to be pure credit crunch related cases.”
Elliott says there have already been five cases relating to the collapse of the Icelandic banks, the smallest of which is worth more than £15m.
Much of the banking and capital markets litigation will go through the UK courts because of London’s position as one of the few global banking centres and because many financial instruments are written under English law, she says. However, some claimants may prefer to see cases fought in the US, where damages can be higher.
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