London's Court Of Appeal has overturned a case in which oral misrepresentation by a structured product sales official was held to have over-ridden written terms and conditions of the credit-linked note. In the original case last summer, Peekay Intermark, Harish Pawani v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Richard Siberry, sitting as a deputy high-court judge, ruled the contract was void because the investment had been fundamentally misrepresented during the sales process and Peekay was awarded damages (DW, 9/9).
The Court of Appeal's decision last week is important, said Jonathan Kelly, partner at Simmons & Simmons, because it restores certainty to the structured products market and to the documentation of structured notes. He added, however, "It's not a charter for sloppy drafting, it has got to be clear and precise." Pawani confirmed to DW he will not take the Court of Apeal's decision to the House of Lords, declining further comment.