Lisbon Court of Appeal
Date: 14-06-2018
Case Nr. 81/17.8YELSB-8
LINK DGSI
Headlines:
A swap master agreement entered separately into with different individuals and the bank allows the joinder of multiple claimants in arbitration.
Summary:
1. If a number of swap agreements between different individuals and the same Bank is concluded under a similar contractual framework, it seems that the merits of the applications will depend essentially on the interpretation and application of the same rules of law or analogous contractual clauses, which allows the joinder of all claims, according to Art. 36(2) of the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure.
2. If the petitioners have agreed with the Bank that the disputes arising of the contracts should be resolved by arbitration, such arbitration clause shall remain valid and enforceable in case of a joinder. This is because the joinder does not affect the multiple material contractual relationships at stake and the parties’ requests for relief.
3. The connection between multiple contractual relationships is a result of the application of the same rules of law and the same contractual clauses of the contractual framework.