An application by Renault UK, Nissan Motor GB and RCI Financial Services to strike out a dealer’s High Court case against them has been dismissed.
The companies are facing a claim brought by Mackie Motors for damages estimated at being in excess of £18 million.
Mackie Motors was a franchised dealer for Renault, Nissan and Dacia. The case relates to events in late 2021, when Mackie Motors alleges that, in relation to what it describes as RCI – which now trades as Mobilize Financial Services – wrongly suspecting it of money laundering, RCI “procured or induced” Renault and Nissan to deny it access to critical systems.
Mackie Motors says it was therefore forced to sell its business to Parks Motor Group.
The defendants, who deny the allegations against them, applied to the court for the case to be struck out on the basis that it “arises from the same or substantially the same factual matrix, circumstances and contractual relationships which were the subject of a previous (and unsuccessful) claim”, citing the legal precedent Henderson v. Henderson (a previous High Court claim by Mackie Motors against RCI alone was struck out in 2022).
However, Lance Ashworth KC, sitting as a deputy judge of the Chancery Division, has ruled against them.
In a written judgment, he ruled: “The current action is not a Henderson v. Henderson abuse of process against any of the defendants. The application to strike out is dismissed.”
A related application by the defendants to have summary judgment granted in their favour was also dismissed.
Kevin Mackie (pictured), managing director at Mackie Motors, said: “Renault, Nissan and RCI have spent years trying to ensure this evidence was never heard. Their attempt to shut the case down has now failed.
“I now look forward to showing the court why Mackie Motors could not continue when Renault and Nissan withdrew the very lifeblood of a franchised dealership and stopped supplying the cars.”
In a statement, Renault said: “We acknowledge the judge’s decision to allow the case to proceed to a further hearing. We will continue to defend our position, and will now evaluate our options, including a potential appeal of the ruling.”
A Nissan spokesperson said: “The judge in the latest hearing indicated that Mackie Motors’ claims are likely to be dismissed at trial but did not consider that they should be dismissed summarily at this stage. We will review the judgment and consider next steps.”
In a statement, RCI FInancial Services said: “We acknowledge the judge’s decision to proceed to a further hearing. We are reviewing the judgment in detail and the possibility of an appeal. As the matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”