A French bank just told a US appeals court a $21 million verdict was built on the wrong law.
That is the small story.
The bigger one is that this case was a test run. If BNP loses on appeal, a much bigger bill could be on the way.
BNP Paribas asked the US Court of Appeals to toss a $20.75 million jury award. The award came from last October.
It came after three former Sudanese civilians, now refugees in the US, said the bank helped pay for the regime that drove them out. A Manhattan federal judge upheld the award in January.
The judge entered final judgment and declined to trim the verdict at all. That cleared the way for the appeal that landed Friday.
The legal core of the appeal is technical. BNP says the trial judge applied the wrong Swiss law.
Swiss law covered parts of the case. The bank says the verdict should fall as a result.
BNP says it is sure the appeals court will agree and toss the October ruling.
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The October verdict was a bellwether. That is a legal term for a test case.
It signals what juries are likely to do in similar suits. There are a lot of similar suits lined up behind this one.
If the verdict holds on appeal, the playbook for going after BNP just got clearer. Plaintiff lawyers will read the result as a green light.
BNP's bill could climb fast. BNP already paid US prosecutors close to $9 billion in 2014.
That was over sanctions ties to Sudan. That was a deal with the government and is a separate track from this case.
This one is private plaintiffs going after the same conduct in civil court. Different doors, same building.
The appeal could take months. It could take more than a year if the court asks for added briefing.
A bellwether is supposed to give both sides a preview. It shows how the rest of the cases might play out.
The first preview did not go BNP's way. The appeal is the bank's chance to rewrite the script.
For buyers of big European bank stocks, the case is a useful reminder. Old conduct can still produce fresh legal bills.
A single jury can set the tone for waves of follow-on suits. The next step is the briefing schedule from the Second Circuit.
After that comes oral argument. A ruling could land any time in the next year.
BNP shares have held in well, trading around 89 euros in Paris as of mid-May. That is below the 52-week high near 97 euros but well off the year-ago low.
So far, the market does not see this case as a real threat to capital. If the appeals court signs off on the verdict, that view could shift fast.
The more cases that pile up behind this one, the harder it is to brush off as a one-off. That is the risk to watch.
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