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The UK High Court has refused a request by the London Metal Exchange to appeal the recent judgment against the exchange in the case brought by UC Rusal, the LME said on Wednesday April 16.
The High Court ruled at the end of March that the LME’s consultation on its proposed new load-out rules was unfair and unlawful, and the rule change, planned for April 1, was subsequently delayed.
The suspension of the new linked load-in and load-out rates came just five days before their planned introduction on April 1, as the UK court ruled that the LME’s consultation on the rules was unfair and unlawful, supporting claims made by UC Rusal.
The exchange now has 21 days to seek leave to appeal directly to the Court of Appeal, it said.
Sources told Metal Bulletin that the LME would go to the Court of Appeal almost immediately, but the LME denied this.
“We continue to believe that Rusal’s complaint was without merit in its entirety and we are taking legal advice with regard to our next steps, including whether to apply to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal and/or to reconsult,” a spokesperson for the exchange said.
Rusal maintains that any solution for long warehouse queues should ensure the market is transparent and easy to read, and that the LME’s proposed rules would not achieve this.
But other companies in the market do not share this view, with downstream producer Novelis calling the delay to the LME’s new warehouse rules “very destructive”.
Jethro Wookey jwookey@metalbulletin.com Twitter: @jethrowookey_mb