On 10 January 2022, Mr Justice Henshaw handed down judgment in Barclays Bank Plc v Shetty [2022] EWHC 19 (Comm) which is of interest to litigators facing adjournment applications and those seeking to enforce foreign judgments in England at common law.

The Claimant obtained judgment for $131 million against the Defendant in the DIFC Court in Dubai and then brought a claim to enforce that judgment in England. The Defendant applied to adjourn the summary judgment hearing on the basis that he was unable to obtain legal representation, saying that all of his assets were frozen pursuant to worldwide freezing orders granted in India. The court rejected the adjournment application and granted summary judgment on the Claimant’s claim.

Mr Justice Henshaw held that the same overriding principle of fairness that applies where an adjournment is sought for medical reasons also applies where a party seeks an adjournment to obtain legal representation. However, considerations of fairness do not entitle a defendant to fail to take steps that are obviously necessary as soon as the claim is commenced and then succeed on a late adjournment application.

The second part of the judgment contains a useful summary of the principles that apply on a claim to enforce a DIFC judgment in England (from [72]), including where a defendant seeks to rely on a counterclaim by way of set-off to resist summary judgment in enforcement proceedings.

The judgment is available here. 

Adrian de Froment acted for the successful claimant (led in the DIFC proceedings by Zoe O’Sullivan KC), instructed by Payam Beheshti, David McDonald and Jon Malik of Simmons & Simmons LLP.