(Bloomberg) -- Hedge fund Elliott Associates was granted permission to appeal its loss in court against the London Metal Exchange over a nickel squeeze, extending the legal battle over the latter’s decision last year to cancel billions of dollars worth of trades.

Elliott applied to the English Court of Appeal and was granted permission to appeal the judgment that went in the LME’s favor last month, according to a filing from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., the parent company of London Metal Exchange. The timing of the appeal, which it plans to contest, is yet to be determined, according to the disclosure Sunday. 

Read More: LME Wins Nickel Crisis Case as UK Rules Against Elliott

The LME was catapulted into the global spotlight last March and drew widespread criticism after it suspended the nickel market and retroactively canceled $12 billion of trades. Elliott sought to have the cancellation declared unlawful, claiming the decisions cost it more than $450 million. 

Jane Street, who lost the initial ruling along with Elliott against the LME in November, said at the time it would evaluate its next steps.

Nickel prices initially started rising last year as the invasion of Ukraine sparked fears about the impact on supplies from Russia, but the spike accelerated as holders of short positions rushed to close out the trades. Tsingshan Holding Group Co. faced billions of dollars in trading losses as prices jumped more than 250% in little over 24 hours, and the LME’s decision to cancel trades on March 8 effectively served as a bailout for the world’s top nickel producer and other holders of short positions.

The crisis shook the metals industry and has thrust the LME into the global spotlight, with critics ranging from the International Monetary Fund to Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin.

--With assistance from Eamon Akil Farhat.

(Updates with background about the case)

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