LM-2023-000035 - [2025] EWHC 1989 (Comm)

The first contact between Mr Fehmi and the Defendant was Dominik Leszczyński’s email of 28 April 2021. It followed the form I have described at paragraph 33 above. That same email format was used by Wirginia Leszczyńska and by Katarzyna Dorosz-Wosiek. It would be fanciful to suggest that the email was anything other than a plain representation by the Defendant that Dominik Leszczyński had power to contract on its behalf. There was no suggestion during the trial that the email format was not approved by the Defendant.

The draft Mandate describing Dominik Leszczyński as CEO, but more importantly showing him as the person who would execute the agreement on behalf of the Defendant, was drafted by Xtellus (reflecting what they understood to be the true position) and adopted by Katarzyna Dorosz-Wosiek (on 17 June 2021 and 2 July 2021). In making changes to the Mandate but accepting that the Mandate would be executed by Dominik Leszczyński Katarzyna Dorosz-Wosiek was in my judgment plainly representing on behalf of the Defendant that Dominik Leszczyński had authority to bind the Defendant.

Further, the presentation sent on 2 July 2021 was plainly the Defendant’s document and should be treated as containing representations it must be held to. It was the Defendant’s outward expression to the world that Dominik Leszczyński was the person in charge and “responsible for strategy, management and supervision” of business and was the CEO. That could only be understood as a representation by the Defendant that Dominik Leszczyński was able to bind it.

It follows that for any of these reasons (any one of the above would suffice to make the point) the Defendant held Dominik Leszczyński out as having the authority to contract on its behalf.