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Area of Law: James Weale
In a judgment handed down this morning, Mrs Justice Cockerill has given important guidance on the effect and scope of a submission to the jurisdiction by a defendant in proceedings.
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The Privy Council has today handed down judgment allowing the appeals of Dr Winston Wong, Riley Wong and Tony Wang in the conjoined appeals of Grand View Private Trust Co Ltd and another (Respondents) v Wong and others [2022] UKPC 47. In one of the most important trusts law judgments in recent years the Board unanimously held that the exercise of a power adding and excluding beneficiaries was void on the basis that it was inconsistent with the purpose for which the power was conferred. The judgment has important implications for the exercise of fiduciary powers more generally. Of the eleven barristers from English chambers who appeared in the Privy Council, eight were from Serle Court: Dakis Hagen KC, Emma Hargreaves and Stephanie Thompson (instructed by Baker & McKenzie (London) and ASW Law Limited (Bermuda)) acted for the appellants in the first appeal; Richard Wilson KC, James Weale and Charlotte Beynon (instructed by Stewarts, MJM Limited (Bermuda) and Baker McKenzie (Taipei)) acted for the appellant in the second appeal; Jonathan Adkin KC and Adil Mohamedbhai acted for the respondent in both appeals (instructed by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (London) and Conyers Dill & Pearman (Bermuda)).
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The Court of Appeal has today handed down an important judgment on committal applications in Navigator Equities Limited and Vladimir Chernukhin v Oleg Deripaska [2021] EWCA Civ 1799. The court set aside the order of Andrew Baker J (striking out the committal application against Mr Deripaska as an abuse of process) and has remitted the matter back to the Commercial Court for trial.
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Dakis Hagen QC (assisted by Emma Hargreaves) acts for the Plaintiffs and Jonathan Adkin QC (assisted by Adil Mohamedbhai) acts for the Defendant trustee in Wong & Anor v Grand View Private Trust Company Ltd, a claim to recover substantial trust property transferred to a trustee of a purpose trust. The Plaintiffs succeeded in obtaining summary judgment at first instance on the ground that powers of addition and exclusion cannot be exercised in a manner which alters or destroys the substratum of the trust ([2019] SC (Bda) 37 Com (5 June 2019)), but this was overturned by the Bermuda Court of Appeal in April 2020 (Civil Appeal No. 5A of 2019, 20 April 2020). Richard Wilson QC (assisted by James Weale) acts for Tony Wang, an intervenor in the appeal. The Plaintiffs and Tony Wang have each been granted leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
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In Basin v Rouge CFI 057/2018, James Weale appeared in the last in-person hearing in the DIFC Court before lockdown. Following a trial, James obtained judgment for the claimant in a claim under a guarantee agreement: [2018] CFI 057. The Court gave guidance on the extent to which variations to underlying obligations affect the validity of an associated guarantee. James also successfully defeated a jurisdiction challenge submitted to the Joint Judicial Committee (Cassation No. 9 of 2019).
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Rupert Reed KC and James Weale acted for the Claimant bank in a US$30m fraud claim against various defendants in proceedings in the DIFC in SBM Bank (Mauritius) Ltd v Renish Petroleum FZE (CFI 054/2018). Having successfully obtained summary judgment against the first two defendants, the trial against the third defendant has been listed in December 2021. A committal application against the first two defendants took place in January 2021. Please click here to view the judgment.
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In AF v SF (Dynastic Trust: Needs-based awards) [2020] 1 F.L.R. 121, Dakis Hagen QC and James Weale represented the successful respondent husband before Moor J in complex matrimonial proceedings concerning a wealthy aristocratic family. The case raised a novel question concerning the application to family trusts of the principle established in Blight v Brewster [2012] 1 WLR 2841 (in which James had also acted).
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James Weale acted for the successful applicant in a committal application against the managing partner of an international law firm in Schwartz v VGV (UK) Ltd, Vivanco and Ors [2020] EWHC 2227 (Ch). Following a 5-day trial, Roth J found that Clemente Vivanco had been complicit in forging trust documents and, in breach of a court order, had failed to produce an original electronic version of one such document. At a subsequent sentencing hearing, the Court imposed an immediate custodial sentence of 4 months [2020] EWHC 3500 (Ch).
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James Weale acted for the successful claimant in a dispute over the ownership of company which held a valuable Chelsea property in Moutreuil v Andreewitch [2020] EWHC 2068 (Fam). Following a 4-day trial, Cobb J held that the transfer of shares by Mr Andreewitch to his partner in order to insulate the property against creditors took effect as an outright gift. In related committal proceedings, which also formed the subject of hearing in the Court of Appeal [2020] 4 W.L.R. 54, James succeeded in an application to commit Mr Andreewitch for contempt of court [2020] 2 F.L.R. 812 for which he received a suspended sentence of 6 months [2020] EWHC 2068 (Fam).
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