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Area of Law: Commercial Litigation
Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait v Man Group PLC plus 37 other defendants, involving Jonathan Adkin QC and Charlotte Beynon for the fourth defendant and Philip Marshall QC and Simon Hattan for the fifth defendant, is one of the largest fraud disputes ever heard in the commercial court. in its High Court claim, the Public Institution for Social Security alleges it is owed $847.7 million as a result of a large-scale fraud by its former director-general, Fahad Maziad Rajaan Al-Rajaan. With allegations of bribery and corruption spanning three decades. This case featured in The Lawyer's Top 20 Cases of 2020.
Read MoreArea of Law: Commercial Litigation
James Brightwell appeared for India and Jonathan McDonagh appeared for Prince Muffakham Jah in High Commissioner for Pakistan in the UK v National Westminister Bank Plc [2019] EWHC 2551 (Ch), where the Court ruled at trial that funds transferred in 1948 from a bank account held by the Government of Hyderabad had remained thereafter held on trust for the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad. Giles Richardson has also acted for the administrator of the Nizam's English estate.
Read MoreArea of Law: Commercial Litigation
John Machell QC, James Weale, and Stephanie Thompson acted for the successful Defendants following a 5-week trial before Teare J in Chernukhin v Deripaska [2019] EWHC 173 (Comm). The case involved a substantial property development in central Moscow and an alleged armed takeover by Oleg Deripaska.
Read MoreArea of Law: Commercial Litigation
James Weale acts for the claimant in an application for a charging order against a valuable property in London held through a trust structure to enforce a $20m judgment debt. Following a heavily contested application disclosure, James succeeded in obtaining an order for specific disclosure in respect of over 50 separate categories of documents.
Read MoreArea of Law: Commercial Litigation
Lance Ashworth QC and Dan McCourt Fritz acted for the successful Respondents in the Court of Appeal in Taylor v Van Dutch Marine Holding [2020] EWCA Civ 353, in a claim concerning agents for undisclosed principals. They are now instructed for the defendants in Taylor v Khodabaksh in which it is claimed that the original decision in Taylor v Van Dutch Marine Holding was obtained by fraud. That will come on for trial in 2022.
Read MoreArea of Law: Intellectual Property
Stephanie Wickenden represented easyGroup successful High Court appeal from the Trade Marks Registry that gives new guidance on how Nice Classification numbers may be used to interpret a trade mark specification.
Read MoreArea of Law: Commercial Litigation
In Filatona Trading Ltd v Navigator Equities Ltd [2020] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 418, James Weale acted for the successful respondent before the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal gave guidance on the inter-relationship between principles of agency law and contractual construction in order to determine when a disclosed principal can intervene in, and assert rights under, a contract. James acts in related proceedings in Jersey which have been listed for trial in March 2021.
Read MoreArea of Law: Private International Law
Prof Jonathan Harris QC (Hon.) & Adrian de Froment instructed by the successful Defendant in trial of a preliminary issue as to the governing law of an agency contract to distribute poultry equipment in North America.
Read MoreArea of Law: Civil Fraud
In Russell v Cartwright [2020] EWHC 41 (Ch), Dan McCourt Fritz and Stephanie Thompson represented three defendants in the trial of a claim for fraudulent non-disclosure and unlawful means conspiracy brought by their former business partner. They were wholly successful at trial, with the Court finding that the parties did not owe fiduciary duties or duties of disclosure and that the defendants had been honest in their dealings with the claimant. The defendants were entitled to their costs on the indemnity basis.
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