Summary The court ordered that a claimant's application to commit a defendant to prison for contempt of court should be heard before the trial of the substantive claim, but ordered the claimant to select three contempt allegations to be heard out of the 23 allegations cited in its application. Facts The...

Summary The proposition established in Smith v Eric S Bush (A Firm) (1990) 1 AC 831, that the duty of care owed by a property surveyor to a mortgagee to prepare its valuation report with skill and care extended to the purchaser of the valued property, did not apply where the transaction concerned...

Summary Although details of unfit conduct in support of an undertaking given in director's disqualification proceedings were not admissions of guilt, where that information was relevant to other proceedings against the director it was not improper for the document to be included in the trial bundle and for the claimant...

Summary It was appropriate to order non-parties to pay the claimants' costs of an action where those parties had funded, controlled and been interested in the defence put forward. Facts The applicants (M and S) applied under the Senior Courts Act 1981 s.51 for costs orders against the respondent non-parties. M...

Summary A decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal gave rise to an issue estoppel preventing the defendant from denying that decisions of the Russian courts annulling arbitration awards were the result of a partial and dependent judicial process. Facts The court was required to determine two preliminary issues in...

Summary John Dagnall appeared for William Harris (“Harris”) who set up a joint-venture with Richard Jones (“Jones”) called Zetnet Limited (“Zetnet”) each holding one share (50% each). Harris transferred his one share to Jones who executed an express declaration of trust in favour of Harris and a stock-transfer form back to...

Summary The word "structure" in the context of the use of an offshore installation as set out in the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 s.837C(2)(f) was capable of wide interpretation and would include structures in the course of construction which on completion would be used for mineral exploitation....

Summary It was appropriate to make an order requiring a company and its liquidators to disclose and permit the inspection of certain documents in accordance with the Insolvency Act 1986 s.112 and s.155 for use by companies in respect of overseas arbitration in which they were involved with other parties. Facts...

Summary A notice purportedly exercising a put option was not a valid notice in terms of the put option agreement. Facts The applicant (D) applied to set aside orders for service out of the jurisdiction and alternative service, the service that took place pursuant thereto and judgment entered in default....