Rubenstein v HSBC Bank
Whether losses following the sub-prime crisis were
foreseeable/issues of remoteness
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1184.html
The first instance decision in this case was reported in Weekly
Update 34/11. In 2005, the claimant invested the proceeds of his
house sale in an AIG bond. This bond had two variable rate interest
funds and the claimant's money was put into the enhanced fund,
rather than the standard one. Following the collapse of Lehman
Brothers in 2008, withdrawals from the AIG bond were temporarily
suspended and and when the claimant was eventually able to cash in
his investment, he suffered a large loss of capital. At first
instance, the judge found that the defendant bank's independent
financial adviser ("IFA") had been negligent and, in
breach of the FSA's Conduct of Business ("COB")
rules, in recommending the AIG investment. However, the judge found
that the loss was too remote to be recoverable because the
