The high drama of Brexit-related events is already having an impact in the English courts.
In the recent case of Elkamet Kunststofftechnik GmbH v Saint-Gobain Glass France SA [2016] EWHC 3421 (Patent Court) a German company prevailing in a High Court patent claim also successfully obtained compensation for the dramatic fall of the British pound following the so-called “Brexit” referendum.
Although the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union has not yet taken place legally and the related procedures have not even started, there has still been a financial impact on the currency exchange rates. The Patent Court acknowledged this and therefore allowed legal and courts costs awarded to take into account the excessive short-term variations in currency exchange rates. The result was intended to allow the prevailing party to get full compensation for its expenditure. It was held that a foreign (i.e. non-UK) company having to exchange its local currency into sterling (the British pound) in order to pay litigation costs is entitled to be compensated for any additional expenditure incurred as a result of exchange rate losses in the same way as it was entitled to be compensated by way of interest for being kept away from its money.