Barclays can be sued over rate fixing, says High Court judge

By BRIAN FARMER
Published on 30/10/2012 01:06

MORE than a dozen firms were yesterday told that they can air grievances relating to the rigging of a lending rate by Barclays Bank staff at a High Court trial.

Bosses at companies that run care homes sued after claiming that Barclays sold financial products without warning that the inter-bank lending rate on which they were based was likely to have been “undermined” by manipulation.

Barclays, which was fined for “misconduct and wrongdoing” in relation to manipulation of the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (Libor), dispute the allegations and tried to block damages claims at a High Court hearing in London. But a judge yesterday ruled that the companies’ claims could be aired at a civil trial – likely to take place in late 2013.

Lawyers representing the firms say the trial could be a “Libor test case”.

Mr Justice Flaux said firms had already complained of being mis-sold financial products, but wanted to add more claims in the wake of rulings by financial regulation authorities on Libor manipulation.

Barclays objected, saying the new claims relating to Libor did not have “real prospects” of success and should not be allowed.

The judge ruled against Barclays after hearing legal arguments yesterday.