Ruth Jordan

Ruth has over 20 years’ experience of advising and acting in offshore litigation in the areas of commercial chancery and trusts and in a wide range of domestic litigation in offshore jurisdictions in the areas of public and administrative law, commercial disputes and property matters. The list below provides a flavour of the range of her practice.

Recent Cases

• Pictet Bank and Trust Ltd v Edelweiss Investments Inc (Panama), Hemaren Stiftung (A Panamanian Foundation), Bourlakova & Bourlakova – Acting for the respondents in interpleader proceedings in The Bahamas, part of the Boulakova litigation (multi-jurisdictional $3bn fraud litigation across 12 jurisdictions). The interpleader proceedings relate to control of circa $800m in funds in an account in the Bahamas and control of the Panamanian company that holds the account.
• PIFSS v Al Wazzan & Ors – Acting (with Hugh Norbury KC, Stuart Ritchie KC, Anna Dilnot KC, and others) for the claimant, the Kuwait national pension and social security fund, in a 12-month Commercial Court trial of bribery and money laundering claims worth circa US$2 billion which is being decided under and/or raises issues of Kuwaiti, Swiss, and Bahamian law (one of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 cases’ of both 2020 and 2025).
• Government of The Bahamas v Grand Bahama Port Authority [2025] – Acted for the respondent (with Jonathan Adkin KC) in an UNCITRAL arbitration of $357m claim by the Government of The Bahamas against a privately owned port authority under a 70 year old agreement.
• Attorney General of The Bahamas and others v The Estate of Claudia Edwards Bethel [2026] UKPC 26 – Acted for the Respondent in Privy Council appeal (May 2026) raising issue of vicarious liability of the Crown for tortious acts of a public employee.
• Nygard Cay – Advised in an action in The Bahamas to enforce a $250m judgment obtained in New York against Bahamian property held in a trust structure in Barbados.
• Player v Player – Advised in relation to trustee removal proceedings and in potential unjust enrichment, debt, breach of fiduciary duty claims against a Cayman trust and Cayman company in relation to unauthorised transactions.
• Fernie v Wincrest Capital Ltd (2021) – Instructed by plaintiff in asset management shareholder dispute in The Bahamas.
• TG Investments Ltd, Tom Gonzales v New Hope Holdings Ltd, Preben Olesen & others – Currently advising the plaintiffs in an action to recover $32.8m in loans and a $12m investment in the Port Lucaya Marina development (in receivership) The Bahamas.
• Responsible Development of Abaco Ltd v Prime Minister of The Bahamas and others [2023] UKPC 2 – Acted for the Appellant in Privy Council in relation to an appeal against a security for costs order in public interest litigation (arising in the course of a challenge to a $300m development). Appeal concerned the proper approach to applications for security for costs by defendants to public interest environmental judicial review claims and in particular by developers joined as additional defendants.
• Waterkeeper Bahamas v Minister for the Environment, Bahamas Petroleum Co Plc and others (2021) – Admitted to the Bar of The Bahamas to act for the applicant in a judicial review challenge to an exploratory offshore oil drilling project. Security for costs.
• Dodds v Proprietors of Ocean Club West [2018] – Appeared in Supreme Court of Turks and Caicos Islands for Plaintiffs action re construction of the legislation governing ownership and management of luxury resort complexes in the TCI.
• Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay v The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and others [2013-2018] and Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay v Hon Jerome Fitzgerald MP and another [2017]. Advised the applicants in 4 high-profile judicial review challenges to various no action’ decisions by the Bahamian government in relation to unauthorised land reclamation activities in the Bahamas and in ongoing related recusal, committal and enforcement proceedings.
• Save The Bays & another v. (1) Hon. Frederick Mitchell (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration) (2) Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald (Minister of Education, Science and Technology), and (3) Attorney General of The Bahamas 2016/PUB/con/00016 – Advised (with Prof Dan Sarooshi KC) the applicants in constitutional action resulting in a finding that the Government and a Member of the Cabinet in the Bahamas were in breach of the Constitution by referring in parliament to the applicant’s private correspondence. Raised important issues of supremacy of the Constitution over Parliament specifically parliamentary privilege.
• Central Bank of Ecuador v Conticorp SA [2015] UKPC 11; [2016] 1 B.C.L.C. 26; [2015] Bus. L.R. D7 – Acted in the Privy Council for the defendants to an action brought in the Bahamas by the Central Bank of Ecuador against an Ecuadorian company and its principal shareholders and officers for dishonest assistance in relation to transactions for the transfer to the defendant company of loans and shares in an Ecuadorian bank in return for global depository receipts which subsequently proved to be valueless.
• Metaxides v Swart, Silver Point Condominium Apartments [2015] UKPC 3 – Case about the validity of a consent order settling proceedings in relation to the governance of a condominium association. Preliminary issue went to Privy Council on issue of validity of the order where there is a non-existent defendant or where defendant not party to the proceedings. Appeared for Respondents in Privy Council. Also advised successful Plaintiffs in main action in Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of The Bahamas and successfully resisted an application for leave to appeal to the Privy Council.
• Bimini Blue Coalition Ltd v The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and others [2014] UKPC 23 – Acted (unled) for the Appellants in two appeals before the Privy Council in relation to (i) the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas’ decision to release developers of a cruise ship terminal from an undertaking preventing them from dredging coral reef; in which the PC granted the Appellants an injunction; and (ii) the Supreme Court of the Bahamas’ decision to release the injunction.
• Oceania Heights v Willard Clarke Enterprise Ltd (2013) UKPC 3 – Appeared in the Privy Council on appeal from the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas for the successful Appellants where the issue was whether a registered agreement for the sale of land took priority over a subsequent unregistered conveyance even where the conveyance was executed pursuant to an unregistered contract entered into before the relevant agreement.
• Re Paulista Ltd (2010-2013) – Advised the defendants in a multi-million dollar minority shareholder dispute and derivative claim relating to ownership of a Brazilian bank being litigated in the Bahamas. Involved in an appeal to the Privy Council on the issue of right to bring common law derivative action.
• Re Earth Ltd v Minister for Marine Resource, Prime Minister and others (2014) – Advised applicants in successful challenge to decisions to allow an $8million dolphin facility to be constructed and operated and to grant dolphin import licences contrary to international conventions and domestic law on marine mammal protection. Succeeded in having international conventions applied.
• Chaffe & Ors v The Proprietors, Strata Plan No. 43 Villa Renaissance CL/89 of 2012 – Appeared for the successful Plaintiffs in the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands in an action re construction of the legislation governing ownership and management of luxury resort complexes in the TCI.
• Responsible Development of Abaco Ltd v Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and others [2012] – Advised the successful applicants a in judicial review challenge to decisions to permit a bunker C oil burning power station to be constructed and operated in area of environmental importance. Resisted application for permission to appeal to the Privy Council.
• Save Guana Cay Reef Association Limited v The Minister Responsible for Crown Lands and the Treasurer of the Bahamas and Ors [2009] UKPC 44 – Acted (unled) for the Appellants in a 3 day hearing before the Privy Council of an appeal against the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas’ rejection of the Appellants’ judicial review challenge to the Bahamian government’s decision to approve a $500m development in the Bahamas. Obtained an injunction in the PC on the same case in 2005.
• Mackinnon v The Regent Trust Company Limited [2006] – Obtained an interim injunction preventing the removal of trust assets from the jurisdiction in the context of Jersey trust litigation; disclosure application; scope of and exercise of discretion under CPR r. 31.14.
• SGI Group v Wijsmuller & Ors [2005] – Advised Plaintiffs in substantial cross-border fraud and international trust case involving injunctive and other relief in Jersey and Anguilla (with Victor Joffe KC).