Frasers tries to pull Morgan Stanley boss into legal battle

Frasers has reportedly asked a New York court to order Morgan Stanley’s boss to hand over evidence for the group’s High Court lawsuit against the bank, the Financial Times has reported. 

The FT said the lawsuit in question concerns an almost $1bn (£815m) margin call covering trades in Hugo Boss. 

Frasers confirmed it has asked Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman to produce documents and testimony for its court proceedings against the bank, which is scheduled to go to trial in February.

Frasers sued Morgan Stanley in 2021 for allegedly acting in bad faith when it “tried to force” the retailer to close derivative positions it had entered with the bank to build up a position in Hugo Boss. 

According to the retailer’s US filing, Morgan Stanley imposed a $995m (£812m) margin call on Frasers’ options in May 2021, forcing the retailer to incur losses of around €50m (£43.4m).

The FT said Frasers’ filing alleges the move was an attempt to harm the company, and that the decision to impose the margin call was “arbitrary, capricious, in breach of good faith, far from market practice, and a breach of contract”. 

Morgan Stanley argued that its decision was “based on objective indications of risk” and stress testing in accordance with the bank’s standard practices, according to Frasers’ filing. 

The margin call followed the collapse of Archegos Capital Management in March 2021, which resulted in Morgan Stanley losing $911m (£744m), and according to Frasers’ US filing, Morgan Stanley incorrectly believed that Frasers shared some of the same family office characteristics as Archegos. 

In a statement, Frasers said: “Frasers is aware of the recent press coverage concerning Frasers’ application for judicial assistance seeking evidence from James Gorman in New York. We have previously announced Frasers’ participation as claimant in proceedings against Morgan Stanley in the High Court in London to which the New York application is connected.

“The London proceedings relate to a disputed margin call made by Morgan Stanley in May 2021 on Saxo Bank, in connection with certain put and call options in Hugo Boss which were ultimately held by Frasers. Saxo sought to pass the margin call through to Frasers.”  

It added: “Frasers successfully sought and obtained injunctive relief in June 2021 preventing the banks taking any steps in connection with the margin call. Frasers considers Morgan Stanley to have acted unlawfully in making and maintaining the margin call and now seeks damages for its losses from Morgan Stanley in the region of approximately €50m. There is no counterclaim against Frasers.”

It then confirmed that by the application in New York, it now seeks testimonial and documentary evidence from Gorman.

Morgan Stanley has also been contacted for comment.