Banque Keyser Ullman S.A. v. Skandia (U.K.) Insurance Co. Ltd - Q.B.D. (Com.Ct.) (Steyn J.) - December 1987

Interest on damages

On 30 September 1986 the court gave judgment on liability in favour of the plaintiff banks (see [1987] 2 W.L.R. 1300). There now arose a question relating to the award of interest on the damages awarded. The question whether a court should award interest on damages was a matter of discretion, as was the selection of the date from which interest should be awarded. The basic principle was that interest would be awarded from the date of loss - BP Exploration v. Hunt [1983] 2 A.C. 352. The date of loss marks the inception of the period over which the plaintiff had been deprived of his money.