Trendtex Trading Corporation and Anr. v. Credit Suisse - Lord Denning, M.R., Lord Justice Bridge and Lord Justice Oliver - C.A - May 2, 1980

Stay of action - Whether assignment was champertous

Trendtex had a cause of action, against Central Bank of Nigeria, which it had reduced into possession by bringing proceedings in the English Courts (see Trendtex Trading Corp. v. Central Bank of Nigeria [1977] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 581). Creditors of Trendtex, Credit Suisse, wished to have assigned to them that cause of action. This was done, the agreement being subject to Swiss law. Credit Suisse then assigned all rights of action to an undisclosed third party who subsequently recovered $8m from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Trendtex had been led to believe, in the course of negotiations, that they were unlikely to receive any more than $800,000 for an assignment of the cause of action.