Summary A tribunal judge had made a serious procedural error in finding that a bankruptcy petition was unopposed because the notice of opposition had been filed late, and that accordingly he had jurisdiction to hear the petition. He should have adjourned the hearing and transferred it to a specialist court,...

Summary A common law duty to have regard to creditors' interests could be triggered when a company's circumstances fell short of actual insolvency. Such a duty arose when the directors knew or should have known that the company was or was likely to become insolvent. In that context, "likely" meant...

Summary A contract for a property purchase was not void or voidable despite the vendors' agreement to pay the acquisition agent a fee without the buyer's knowledge. The agent's relationship to the buyer was not such as to engage the law on bribery and secret commissions, so the agreement could...

Successfully obtaining ex parte freezing and proprietary injunctions against former agents (and their associates) in claims for breach of fiduciary duty (secret profits and diversion of business opportunities), dishonest assistance, knowing receipt and conspiracy arising out of international titanium trading (Business List (ChD), January 2019.

Summary It was appropriate to order the claimants to pay the costs of two applications under the Arbitration Act 1996 s.68 which they had discontinued. Further, those costs should be paid on the indemnity basis, the claimants' conduct having taken the case out of the norm. Facts The court ruled on...

Summary The claimant peer-to-peer lender succeeded in claims against the defendant borrower for deceit and breach of contract, and in debt. Facts The claimant peer-to-peer lender claimed against the defendant borrower in debt under a number of loan agreements and for damages for breach of contract and deceit.The defendant...

Summary In a dispute relating to a family-owned property company, the court granted an unfair prejudice petition and determined issues on the evidence, including the individual shareholdings of the respective family members and whether any were held on trust, and the status of purported share transfer and trust documentation. Facts...

Summary There was no blanket rule that, when considering a litigant's ability to participate effectively in proceedings, judges had to ignore what they saw and heard in court and be guided only by medical evidence. Judges were entitled to form their own views and were not bound by expert evidence,...

Summary The High Court concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to hear claims by three companies against their chief executive officer and chief financial officer, because the claims were matters relating to individual contracts of employment under the Lugano Convention 2007 s.5 and the defendants were not domiciled in the...