Emiliano Sala Legal Case: The Latest

I had an email from the supporters trust regards this. It read as follows:

Trust Chair Keith Morgan attended an online meeting today with the Cardiff City FC lawyer dealing with the case. The meeting was also attended by various members of the media, both local and national.

This is Keith's report on that briefing.

The court hearing will take place in the Nantes Commercial Court at 5pm local time on Monday, December 8th with an estimated hearing time of 2 to 3 hours.

The hearing is open to the public so likely to be attended and reported on by the media.

A French judge will give an initial summary of the matter based on all the documents submitted by both sides which he has fully reviewed. Then there will be the chance for lawyers on both to present their verbal case as to why he should rule in their favour.

He has to consider two assertions. Firstly, liability. Is FC Nantes liable for the financial loss to Cardiff City FC caused by the actions of their agent Willie McKay and, secondly, what quantum of loss are they liable for the Cardiff City FC claim(It is for €120.2m)?

The judge is unlikely to finally give his formal verdict until early Spring 2026.

I for one certainly hope it doesn't take until Spring 2026 for the final verdict. This has gone on far too long.

Spring 2026 sounds about right, he needs to come to the right conclusion for such a delicate case.

Would have been earlier but Nantes asked for an adjournment when this was last supposed to happen.

I would suspect it will go on longer than that anyway because whoever doesn't get what they want will more than likely appeal.

Spring 2026 sounds about right, he needs to come to the right conclusion for such a delicate case.

Would have been earlier but Nantes asked for an adjournment when this was last supposed to happen.

I would suspect it will go on longer than that anyway because whoever doesn't get what they want will more than likely appeal.

Yeah I was thinking the loser will probably appeal too.

It's crazy how long this has gone on. It must be very unpleasant for Sala's family and friends.

Spring 2026 sounds about right, he needs to come to the right conclusion for such a delicate case.

Would have been earlier but Nantes asked for an adjournment when this was last supposed to happen.

I would suspect it will go on longer than that anyway because whoever doesn't get what they want will more than likely appeal.

Yeah I was thinking the loser will probably appeal too.

It's crazy how long this has gone on. It must be very unpleasant for Sala's family and friends.

I totally agree.

Thanks, Mike076, like cases involving other similar claims, this certainly has taken too long!

Sadly, this is unlikely to be the end of it, as the ‘losing’ side will have the ‘right of appeal’ to potentially two more levels. However, the second level is only on an ‘incorrect point of Law’ (see below):



A Nantes Commercial Court decision can generally be appealed to the Nantes Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel de Rennes, as Nantes often falls under Rennes for appeals) within one month, and appeals are focused on facts and law, with further appeal to the Cour de Cassation possible only on points of law, according to French commercial law.

Key Points for Appealing a French Commercial Court Decision:

Right to Appeal:
Either party can usually appeal a decision from a first-instance commercial court to a Court of Appeal, reviewing both facts and law, notes Legal 500 and ICLG.com.

Time Limit:
The standard deadline to file an appeal is one month from the judgment's notification (service), extendable for parties domiciled abroad.

Appellate Court: The case is reviewed by a Court of Appeal, which re-examines the case's facts and legal application.

Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court):
A further appeal to the Cour de Cassation is possible, but this court only judges whether the law was correctly applied, not the facts themselves.
Provisional Enforcement: Even if appealed, first-instance judgments are generally provisionally enforceable in France unless the judgment or law specifies otherwise

Cheers for the update
Hopefully all sorted one way or another in Spring and maybe a club sold in summer.

Cheers for the update
Hopefully all sorted one way or another in Spring and maybe a club sold in summer.

Not much chance of either happening.

Cheers for the update
Hopefully all sorted one way or another in Spring and maybe a club sold in summer.

Not much chance of either happening.

Sadly, it seems not…

“An appeal at the French Cour d'Appel de Rennes, like other French courts, doesn't have a fixed timeframe; it varies greatly, but you can expect civil appeals to take several months to over a year, while urgent criminal cases (like délai de carence) might be resolved much faster, potentially within weeks, depending on case complexity, court workload, and scheduling.
Factors Influencing Timeline.”

Case Type:
Criminal matters, especially urgent ones (like those involving detention), often have priority.

Court Docket:
The number of cases on the Cour d'Appel de Rennes docket impacts scheduling.
Case Complexity: Cases with extensive documentation or numerous parties take longer.

Procedural Steps[bi]:
Filing deadlines, scheduling hearings, and exchanging briefs all add time.
General Expectations

[b]Civil Cases:
Can take 14 to 18 months or more, as indicated by general French court data.

Criminal Cases:
Urgent criminal matters, particularly those involving detention, often take precedence.
Faster, but still variable; some expedited cases might be heard in days/weeks, while others take months.