Excalibur Ventures LLC v. Texas Keystone Inc & Ors (Rev 2) - (14 Dec 2015)

Clifford Chance settles professional negligence case out of court

MANU/UKCM/0150/2014

Civil

Clifford Chance, a leading law firm in the UK and one of the largest law firms in the world, settled a professional negligence case out of court for an undisclosed amount. It had faced the negligence claim after spectacularly losing Excalibur Ventures’ claim for specific performance against several large oil producers in the United States, which then saw Excalibur burdened with legal costs of the Defendants. The UK High Court had assessed total maximum costs upwards of £30 million, on an indemnity basis, noting a multitude of deficiencies in the claim. Finding it to be “based on no sound foundation in fact or law…replete with defects, illogicalities and inherent improbabilities”, the Court was unequivocal in attributing the burden of the failed litigation on ‘litigation funders’, including Andonis Lemos, founder of the company which professionally funded Excalibur’s litigation and who was assessed to nearly £14 million of damages. The litigation funders had since begun proceedings against Clifford Chance for the same.

Tags : LAW FIRM NEGLIGENCE CLIFFORD CHANCE