Camdex International Ltd v Bank of Zambia and Another: CA 3 Apr 1996

Appeal by the Defendant from a judgment on an application for summary judgment under RSC Order 14 by the Plaintiffs, Camdex International Ltd judgment was entered for the Plaintiffs in the sum of Kuwaiti Dinars 20,595,557.429. The Plaintiffs pleaded that the Central Bank of Kuwait deposited with the Defendant the sum of Kuwaiti Dinars 15,000,000 for a period of a year at an agreed rate of interest. The deposit was renewed in a number of subsequent years with the interest being accumulated. The Central Bank of Kuwait and the Defendant entered into two further agreements which had the effect of rescheduling part of the Defendant’s interest liability and extended the deposit of the principal sum and the balance of the interest for a further year. The Defendant paid a sum of 616,098 Kuwaiti Dinars during 1990 but otherwise failed to pay the sums due under the 1988 agreements. Having pleaded the indebtedness of the Defendant to the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Plaintiffs pleaded that the Central Bank of Kuwait assigned absolutely to the Plaintiffs the debts due under the 1988 agree ments and that the Plaintiffs had given written notice of the assignment to the Defendant and that they had accordingly become entitled to the payment of the debt to them.
Held: The appeal failed. There was no maintenance in the assignment of debt though litigation was required to recover it. It remains objectionable to traffic in litigation. The assignment had no essence in maintenance and was contemplated by statute, and was effective.

Neill, Peter Gibson, Hobhouse LJJ
Gazette 10-Jul-1996, Times 08-Apr-1996, [1998] QB 22, [1996] EWCA Civ 1356
Bailii
Law of Property Act 1925 136
England and Wales
Citing:
CitedEllis v Torrington CA 1920
An assignment of the benefit of a covenant in a lease held to be sufficiently connected with enjoyment of the property as not to be a bare right of action. The assignment was not void.
Scrutton LJ stated that the assignee of a cause of action . .
CitedMayor of Bradford v Pickles HL 29-Jul-1895
The plaintiffs sought an injunction to prevent the defendant interfering with the supply of water to the city. He would have done so entirely by actions on his own land.
Held: The plaintiffs could have no property in the water until it came on . .

Cited by:
See AlsoCamdex International Ltd v Bank of Zambia and Another CA 22-May-1996
Application by the defendant for leave to appeal and, should leave be granted, an appeal . .
See AlsoCamdex International Ltd v Bank of Zambia and Others (2) CA 28-Jan-1997
English Courts have no power to enforce foreign public law here. . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Torts – Other, Banking

Updated: 09 January 2022; Ref: scu.559147