Our motor finance appeal features in The Lawyer’s Top 10
3rd February 2025
We’re excited to announce that we’ve been featured in The Lawyer’s Top 10 Appeals of 2025, thanks to Russell Kelsall, our Head of Consumer & Motor Finance, and his upcoming appeal for Close Brothers in relation to the payment of broker commissions in the motor finance market.
The Supreme Court recently granted the lenders permission to appeal after the Court of Appeal decision in Johnson & Others v FirstRand Bank Limited & Others [2024]. This concluded that the motor dealers’ arrangements with their customers, where they also acted as a finance broker for the hire purchase of vehicles, meant they owed both a disinterested duty and a fiduciary duty to the customer. This meant they would only be permitted to receive commission from the lender where they had first obtained the customer’s informed consent.
The Lawyer noted, “The potential fallout from the case potentially makes it the most significant in this year’s top 10 appeals, both for the banks and consumers involved, but also for the legal sector more widely, with significant work likely to flow through should the Supreme Court decide against the banks.”
The appeal is scheduled to be heard in April and both the FCA and HM Treasury have applied for permission to intervene and make representations to the Supreme Court.
For any enquiries, please contact our Press team.
