Icelandic car financiers, Lysing and SP Fjarmognun, have come to the conclusion that the Supreme Court ruling on foreign currency indexed car loans does not apply to lease contracts.
People with cars or work vehicles on operational lease or financed lease contracts through either of the two companies will have to pay the same as always.
The biggest Icelandic financing companies froze invoicing of foreign currency indexed car loans and lease contracts when such loans were judged illegal, according to RUV. But people with so-called operational leases, private lease contracts or financed lease contracts with SP and Lysing have been now issued with bills for the month of July.
The invoices are accompanied by a letter saying that, according to company lawyers, these particular types of financing deals probably do not fall under the Supreme Court ruling. Billing will therefore continue as normal.
” The invoices are accompanied by a letter saying that, according to company lawyers, these particular types of financing deals probably do not fall under the Supreme Court ruling. Billing will therefore continue as normal. ”
Until some private individual or company does sue again.
What a mess.
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/06/19/foreign-currency-car-loans-confirmed-as-illegal-in-iceland/#comment-200433
I think in-house counsel is skating on thin ice. While it is true that the Supreme Court had only traditional loans and not leases before it, it is also true that courts typically distinguish between traditional leases and financing leases and treat the latter as loans. Since these are financing leases, I would be surprised if the courts did not apply foreign currency indexing restrictions to them.