The high cost of mis-selling in the DIFC: the Bank Sarasin case
(Part Two) and the first DIFC award of (US-style) multiple or
punitive damages
Introduction
On 7 October 2015, the DIFC Court of First Instance issued its
judgment on quantum issues in the latest instalment of the Bank
Sarasin case. The decision is important for a number of reasons,
not least because:
-
it is one of the largest successful mis-selling claims seen in
the region with the DIFC Court determining quantum and ordering the
combined payment of damages of US$59,611,899 (in addition to
previous interim payments of circa US$11.5m) by Bank Sarasin-Alpen
in the DIFC and its Swiss parent entity; and
-
for the first time the DIFC Court awarded multiple (or punitive)
damages based on the deliberate conduct of Sarasin-Alpen and
confirmed that in applying DIFC Law it will follow the US approach
to such damages, rather than the more conservative principles under
English law. In effect, this
