The Persons Identified in Schedule 1 to the Re-Amended Particulars of Claim v Standard Chartered PLC
[2024] EWCA Civ 674
The Persons Identified in Schedule 1 v Standard Chartered Plc
28 March 2024
[2024] EWHC 836 (Ch)
High Court
Many investors sued Standard Chartered for misleading information. The judge told the investors they had to provide clear proof of their investments and losses. They had to fix the messy way they presented this proof, giving details directly from each investor, rather than guesses.
Key Facts
- •Claimants (226) brought claims under sections 90 and 90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) against Standard Chartered PLC.
- •Claims relate to alleged misstatements in prospectuses for rights issues in 2008, 2010, and 2015, and failure to disclose misconduct.
- •The Bank applied for an order requiring Claimants to serve amended further particulars of standing (FPOS) and clean trading data.
- •The court initially considered whether to hear the application given an upcoming Case Management Conference (CMC).
- •The Claimants initially provided insufficient information in their FPOS and trading data, mixing assumptions and educated guesses with actual data.
Legal Principles
Claimants under section 90 of FSMA must prove they acquired securities to which the listing particulars applied.
FSMA, section 90(1)(a)
Claimants under section 90A of FSMA must prove they acquired, continued to hold, or disposed of securities to which Schedule 10A applied.
FSMA, section 90A and Schedule 10A
The court has the power to manage cases and ensure compliance with orders, including requiring specific information in a clear and intelligible format.
Inherent powers of the court; Civil Procedure Rules
It is an abuse of process to bring a claim without proper authority or without the claimant considering the statutory criteria.
Inherent powers of the court
Ordinary rules of procedure apply to securities litigation, including the provision of basic particulars of claims.
Case law and precedent (implied)
Outcomes
The Claimants were ordered to produce a new document combining information from the FPOS and FPQ by 12 April 2024.
The initial FPOS did not contain all material facts necessary to establish standing; the information was spread across multiple documents making it difficult to verify compliance.
Claimants (except those who provided clean trading data) were ordered to provide clean trading data by 23 May 2024.
The initial trading data was based on assumptions and not direct instructions from each claimant; this was not compliant with the order.
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