Court of Appeal decides on Excalibur

18 November 2016

On 18th November 2016 the Court of Appeal handed down the decision in Excalibur Ventures LLC & Ors -v- Psari Holdings Limited & Ors [2016] EWCA Civ 144. It upheld the initial costs judgment made on 13 December 2013 by the High Court.

Susan Dunn, Head of Litigation Funding at Harbour, said: “Specifically to Excalibur we mustn’t forget that, although the Judge upholds the decision of the High Court, he reiterates that awarding costs on an indemnity scale is a departure from the norm. In this particular case, he agreed that the character of the claim, the size and effect justified this specific outcome. It highlights, not only the importance of the due diligence process before the decision to fund, but also that it is taken by experienced people who are well versed with the risks of third party funding and very knowledgeable about the litigation process.”

“Furthermore, in general terms it was pleasing to hear that the Court of Appeal support third party funding as a feature of modern litigation in the public interest. It also goes to show the considerable risk that funders take. In our view, the decision also offered ‘peace of mind’ related to some of the concerns the Association of Litigation Funders had made with relation to champerty.”

The full judgment.
The statement of the Association of Litigation Funders of which Harbour is a founding member.

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