Libyan Arab Foreign Bank V.Bankers Trust Company Case Brief

Title: Libyan Arab Foreign Bank v. Bankers Trust Company

Citation: England, High Court, Queens Bench Division, Commercial Court, 1987

Facts: The plaintiff known as Libyan Arab Foreign Bank had money deposited at the defendant known as Bankers Trust Bank out in New York and at the London Branch. The government of the United States then proceeded to have all of the Libyan assets in the US frozen. Based on the law of New York which isn't English law, the embargo of the US government stopped the branch in London from having money released to the plaintiff. When the defendant did not want to have any funds released to the plaintiff, the suit was brought into an English court to force the defendant to have the funds released (Rutzke, 1988).

Procedure: The judge awarded the case to the plaintiff the first claim of $131 million dollars as well as the amount that they asked for which was 161 million. They did not win claims 3 and 4 however they did win the fifth claim but if the claim would have been material, they would have lost that too as well (Bennett, 1987).

Issues: Is there a bank contract governed by local law? Does a branch of a bank get treated as an entity meaning different from its central office?

Holdings: Yes the bank contract is governed by local law. The bank branch does get specified as an entity or different

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