Commercial Litigation

 The Firm’s litigation department has dealt with and continues to deal with a number of high-profile cases, some of which can be found here. Below are examples of some of the work the firm has recently undertaken.

 Banking Litigation

• acting for a bank which had been involved in the purchase of a debt where the purchase occurred immediately before the debtor had gone into liquidation, which involved considerations of jurisdiction and appropriate forum;

• acting for a number of overseas clients in relation to the sale of derivatives and successfully recovering for those clients their investments together with interest and costs;

• acting for clients where funds were permitted to be withdrawn by a bank from a client’s account without the client’s authority;

• acting for a small bank in the recovery of loans advanced to individuals refusing to repay, despite the individuals raising a multitude of defences;

• acting for a bank in Kenya, in relation to an individual who had committed fraud against the bank.

Trust Claims

• acting for a registered religious charity against a local authority in relation to the interpretation of a contract and planning agreement (with issues relating to constructive trust) and succeeding after a final decision was given in the Court of Appeal;

• making various applications for clients who had deposits with a bank which was insolvent, and which was the subject of security in relation to third party lending, successfully arguing that the deposits were subject to a trust;

• acting for an individual who claimed an interest in a substantial property (which interest had not been protected by any form of trust declaration) and successfully protecting the client’s interest in the property;

• acting for an individual involved in a family dispute where disposition of assets was disputed and ensuring that the individual’s interest was protected.

 General Litigation

• acting for stockbrokers in the recovery of a substantial sum of money from numerous clients including former clients and in particular, applying for and obtaining a freezing order against a company (whose assets included an aircraft at Heathrow Airport);

• acting for a client in a partnership dispute where the subject matter was an operating business valued in excess of £150 million, and successfully challenging the interpretation of the joint venture agreement;

• acting for a film distributor in relation to a breach of a distribution agreement, obtaining an anti-suit injunction against the distributor in India, and successfully recovering costs as well as substantial damages for the client;

• litigation in relation to a fraudulent transfer of properties and rectification at the Land Registry;

• successful claim for negligence against solicitors who were involved in internet identity fraud;

• litigation in relation to the service of a section 146 notice for immoral use of a commercial property, whether such use was a breach of the covenant imposed upon the tenant and whether it was remediable, which was successfully overturned in the Court of Appeal.

Jurisdiction Issues

• acting for an airline in India in relation to jurisdictional issues as to whether the exclusive jurisdiction clause in an aircraft leasing agreement was valid or not;

• acting for trustees resident in England and Wales in relation to a dispute relating to a property in Uganda;

• successfully obtaining consent from the High Court of Justice for service out of the jurisdiction of a libel writ in relation to a publication in England.