Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC:

On February 21, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a decisive opinion in Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC, 601 U.S. 65 (2024), upholding the enforceability of choice-of-law provisions, marking a significant development in maritime law.

The case involved a dispute over an insurance claim for a damaged vessel, which evolved into a complex legal analysis of contractual agreements and pinning state versus federal law. The following sections detail the factual background, judicial proceedings, and broader implications of this case, shedding light on its impact on maritime commerce and legal practices.

Guide to FuelEU Maritime

Every now and then a commodities trade goes horribly wrong, the parties fall out and someone rings their lawyer to ask: ‘can we stop the letter of credit?’. Injunctions to stop letters of credit are rare as hens teeth in England or the US but more common in other jurisdictions, where civil law systems allow greater latitude.

The Commercial Court’s decision in Macquarie Bank Limited v Banque Cantonale Vaudoise [2024] EWHC 114 (Comm) sets out in crystal clear terms the English law view on attempts to do so and the enduring liability of the issuing bank.