An American court paves the way for hearing a depositors’ lawsuit against a Lebanese bank

A US appeals court ruled this week that claims against Lebanese commercial banks can be heard outside Lebanon, a decision seen by Archyde.com showed, paving the way for more lawsuits by depositors looking to access their frozen funds.
The December 15 decision in a case brought by Lebanese depositors against Bank Audi overturned a lower court ruling that Beirut courts had “exclusive jurisdiction” in cases against Lebanese banks.

During the financial collapse in Lebanon three years ago, banks imposed strict restrictions on withdrawals in both US dollars and the local currency, which lost more than 90% of its value.

These restrictions have not been turned into law, and litigation attempts before courts at home and abroad by depositors seeking immediate recovery of their money in US dollars have yielded mixed results.

Raad’s family filed a lawsuit in New York in December 2020, alleging that Bank Audi breached their contract by refusing to transfer their money abroad at the start of the financial crisis, according to the court document.

A partial court previously dismissed the case and considered that the Lebanese judiciary alone has jurisdiction over such cases.