New case law limiting the ability of plaintiffs to obtain maritime attachment orders on electronic fund transfers routed through New York banks has been made retroactive by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The Second Circuit last month overruled existing precedent as “erroneously decided” and said the incidental and momentary passage of electronic fund transfers through intermediary banks will no longer be sufficient to vest jurisdiction in maritime disputes in the Southern District (NYLJ, Oct. 20). In The Shipping Corp. of India Ltd. v. Jaldhi Overseas Pte Ltd., 08-3477-cv, the circuit held that transfers that are temporarily in the hands of an intermediary bank are not the property of defendants for purposes of attachment—whether or not the transfer started or ended in a defendant’s bank account.
