Foreign parties and the tort jurisdiction gateway under the English CPR.

Mante, Joseph

Abstract

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom took an expansive view of the word ‘damage’ under paragraph 3.1(9)(a) of the CPR Part 6, PD 6B on the tort jurisdictional gateway in the recent case of FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Lady Brownlie. To the court, there was no good reason to limit the meaning of the word ‘damage’ to what was necessary to complete a cause of action in tort. It extended the meaning of the word to cover physical and financial damage caused by the wrongdoing and thereby allowed victims of torts committed outside the UK to maintain action for damages in an English court. The decision by the highest court in the UK raises the question whether the related paragraph 3.1(9)(b) of PD 6B of the CPR should also benefit from expansive interpretation. This piece critically examines the implications of a liberal interpretation of paragraph 3.1(9)(b) of PD 6B of the CPR for actions by foreign claimants in the English courts alleging duty of care by parent companies and their subsidiaries, especially those not domiciled in the UK. It explores the extent to which damage resulting from wrongful acts complained of – injuries to claimant’s and damage to their properties occurring outside the UK – could be linked to the decisions or activities of parent companies made in the United Kingdom, and implications for the application of the tort gateway.

Citation

MANTE, J. 2023. Foreign parties and the tort jurisdiction gateway under the English CPR. Presented at the 114th Society of Legal Scholars' annual conference 2023 (SLS 2023), Oxford, UK. Hosted on OpenAIR [online]. Available from: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2086161

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: 114th Society of Legal Scholars' annual conference 2023 (SLS 2023)
• Conference Location: Oxford, UK
• Start Date: Jun 27, 2023
• End Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2023
• Keywords: Foreign parties; English civil procedure rule; Jurisdiction gateway; Tort
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2086161