Shevill v. Presse Alliance SA

Presse Alliance SA (defendant), a newspaper publisher, published an article in the France-Soir newspaper about a drug-trafficking investigation at a currency exchange. The article mentioned an exchange called Chequepoint and an employee named Fiona Shevill (plaintiff). The France-Soir newspaper was mainly circulated in France, but copies were also sold across Europe. Chequepoint International Ltd. (plaintiff) held currency-exchange businesses including Chequepoint SARL (plaintiff) and Ixora Trading Inc. (Ixora) (plaintiff), which was also referred to as Chequepoint. Shevill, Chequepoint International, Chequepoint SARL, and Ixora filed an action against Presse Alliance in the England and Wales High Court of Justice seeking defamation damages, arguing that the article falsely implied their involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. Presse Alliance’s challenge of jurisdiction was dismissed. Presse Alliance filed an appeal with the England and Wales Court of Appeal, which was also dismissed, and then appealed to the United Kingdom House of Lords. Presse Alliance argued that under the Brussels Convention (the convention), the courts of England and Wales had no jurisdiction because the only harmful event occurred in France. The House of Lords referred questions seeking clarification of the convention’s jurisdiction rules to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling.