Banker who accuses Ferrari of brake failure cover up after he ran over and killed security guard can't sue for millions in UK, judge rules
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A banker who accused Ferrari of covering up a brake failure after he ran over and killed a security guard cannot sue the car brand for millions in the UK, a judge has ruled.
Robert Ebert was head of equities for the Asia Pacific region at Deutsche Bank when he accidentally killed security guard Ku Lap-chi while driving to work in Hong Kong in his Ferrari 458 Spider in June 2015.
The London-born boss, then aged 48, was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed in the Asian country.
He served 14 months of a 22-month sentence and was deported on release, claiming his career was ruined by the incident.
Mr Ebert argued the crash was not his fault and the supercar's brakes had failed, but a Hong Kong judge preferred evidence suggesting this was impossible.
Now the banker wants to sue the supercar giant for millions, saying thousands of Ferraris were subsequently recalled - including his own - due to problems similar to the ones he alleges.
His lawyers launched a pre-action bid in London's High Court to force Ferrari to release documents he says will help him discover 'what knowledge Ferrari had in relation to these issues'.
Mr Ebert's barrister Andrew Butler KC told Mrs Justice O'Farrell he had lost a career which could have seen him earning a salary of up to $11million (£8million) due to the conviction.
Robert Ebert accused Ferrari of covering up a brake failure after he ran over and killed a guard
The banker was head of equities for the Asia Pacific region at Deutsche Bank when it happened
His solicitors claimed Ferrari chat sites featured messages questioning the brakes as early as 2021, before the brand recalled a string of models including the 458 over braking systems.
But the bid to launch his case in the UK was rejected after the judge said Hong Kong or Italy, where the brand is based, would be more 'appropriate forums for the trial'.
Mr Ebert's lawyers had claimed Ferrari recalled 'over 2,000 vehicles' in China in 2022, including cars imported between March 2010 and March 2019 such as Mr Ebert's own.
They added that the announcement referred to 'a brake reservoir fluid cap which may not vent properly'.
Tim Otty KC, for Ferrari, claimed the former banker was trying to bypass the proper legal procedure. He added that applications for disclosure of evidence ought to be made in either Hong Kong or Italy, not London.
He told the judge: 'Mr Ebert alleges that the same brake-related defects [that prompted the recall] caused the accident, that Ferrari knew or should have known of these alleged defects, and that (Ferrari's expert) gave evidence at the trial which was false, misleading and/or negligent, leading ultimately to Mr Ebert's conviction and various alleged consequential losses.
'Ferrari denies that the recall had any relevance to the accident or Mr Ebert's conviction.'
Agreeing and rejecting his UK pre-action disclosure application, the judge said: 'The court is not satisfied that in all the circumstances... England and Wales is clearly or distinctly the appropriate forum for the trial of the dispute.'
She added: 'I recognise that, without the documents, it is difficult for Mr Ebert to plead a particularised claim, but there has been no attempt to define, even in outline, the factual and legal basis of the putative claim.
'Although Mr Ebert is resident in England and the losses to be claimed are said to be incurred in England, there is no other link to this jurisdiction. Ferrari and the material witnesses are based in Italy and Hong Kong.
'A more appropriate forum would be Hong Kong, where the fatal accident, examination of the scene and the vehicle, and the criminal trial took place.'
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