Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Ltd v Bidzina Ivanishvili and 6 others (Bermuda)

Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Ltd v Bidzina Ivanishvili and 6 others (Bermuda)

CS Life owed and breached a contractual duty to invest the policy assets in accordance with the discretionary mandate chosen by the policyholders. Damages must be recalculated from the effective commencement dates of the policies, not from the dates assets were first transferred. The misrepresentation claim fails because it is time-barred under Georgian law, which applies as the lex loci delicti; renvoi does not operate to displace this result. Conscious awareness of a representation is not a legal requirement for a deceit claim.

Parties
Appellant/respondent to Cross Appeal: Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Ltd; Respondents/cross Appellants: Bidzina Ivanishvili and 6 others
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
24 November 2025
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Final Appellate Judgment (privy Council)
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part; cross-appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Breach of Contract, Fiduciary Duty, Fraudulent Misrepresentation, Measure of Damages, Double Actionability Rule, Limitation Periods, Renvoi, Agency, Implied Representations
Contract Law Tort Law Private International Law Insurance Law Breach of Contract Fiduciary Duty Fraudulent Misrepresentation Measure of Damages +5 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 6 Authorities cited 14 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 9
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Credit Suisse Life (Bermuda) Ltd

Appellant/respondent to Cross Appeal

Bidzina Ivanishvili and 6 others

Respondents/cross Appellants

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Final Appellate Judgment (privy Council)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Did CS Life owe contractual and fiduciary duties to invest policy assets in accordance with the investment alternative chosen by the policyholder?
  2. 2 Was CS Life in breach of those duties?
  3. 3 What is the proper measure and period for damages?

Ratio Decidendi

CS Life owed and breached a contractual duty to invest the policy assets in accordance with the discretionary mandate chosen by the policyholders. Damages must be recalculated from the effective commencement dates of the policies, not from the dates assets were first transferred. The misrepresentation claim fails because it is time-barred under Georgian law, which applies as the lex loci delicti; renvoi does not operate to displace this result. Conscious awareness of a representation is not a legal requirement for a deceit claim.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part; cross-appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Damages to be recalculated from 31 October 2011 for the Meadowsweet policy and 30 November 2012 for the Sandcay policy, with adjustments for unauthorised transactions prior to commencement.
  • All other aspects of the appeal and cross-appeal dismissed.