Banca Generali S.p.A v CFE (Suisse) SA & Anor.

Expedition should be ordered where the applicant demonstrates a good reason for an expedited hearing, the respondent suffers no material prejudice, and the effect on the administration of justice is acceptably limited. The court should assess the practical urgency by reference to the consequences of delay and the earliest realistic hearing date. A short hearing with limited preparation may justify expedition where it materially reduces the applicant’s risk from further delay.

The claimant sought expedition of its substantive application concerning disclosure of documents relating to securitised transactions and underlying receivables. It needed the information to assess and report the fair market value of Notes to its clients and the Italian regulator.

Two previous reporting deadlines had passed without a fair-value report. A further delay would risk another missed quarter, and two classes of Notes were approaching maturity. The issue was whether the one-day hearing could be listed urgently, despite pressure on the court’s lists.

1. The application for expedition was granted. The one-day hearing was to be expedited.
2. Applying the test identified by the Court of Appeal in WL Gore & Associates GmbH v Geox S.p.A [2008] EWCA Civ 622, the claimant had shown a good reason for expedition.
3. The relevant circumstances included two previous quarters in which the claimant had been unable to report fair market value, the risk of a further missed quarter, and the imminent maturity of two classes of Notes. These matters created a significant practical difference between a hearing in late May and one in July.
4. There was no suggestion that expedition would prejudice the defendants. Although the court’s lists were extremely busy, a one-day hearing requiring only half a day’s pre-reading was likely to have a relatively small effect on the urgent administration of other cases.
5. The court identified no other special factors. The hearing was therefore expedited, subject to listing and the parties’ convenience.