King Felix Sunday Bebor Berebon & Ors v The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd

A court may continue a stay to facilitate an agreed remediation process where that process is the best available means of resolving the dispute. The appropriate duration depends on the parties’ original objectives, expected progress, finality, and the court’s resources.

Conditions which significantly restrict a claimant’s right to restore proceedings require material of substantial weight. An unconditional stay may therefore be appropriate where proposed conditions would create further disputes and the evidence does not justify restricting access to the court.

The proceedings concerned claims arising from oil spills in Bodo Creek, Nigeria. Most claims had been settled, while the claim for clean-up and remediation had been stayed under an agreement and consent order to allow a mediation process to operate.

The court dealt with an uncontested substitution application and a restoration application. The parties agreed in principle that the stay should continue but disagreed about its duration and proposed conditions.

1. The claim was technically restored for administrative purposes, principally to permit substitution of claimants and continuation of the stay. It was not restored for trial.
2. The stay was re-imposed until 1 July 2019. The period had to reflect the parties’ original objectives, expected progress, finality, and the court’s resources.
3. A condition significantly limiting access to the court required material of considerable weight. Finality, incentivising cooperation, and previous injunction proceedings were insufficient. The proposed conditions would also create disputes about breach, seriousness, causation, and the mediation process. The stay was therefore unconditional.
4. The order did not create an entitlement to indefinite extensions. Future obstruction might support abuse of process, while later developments might justify summary judgment or strike out.
5. No disclosure order was made. The court observed that information-sharing arrangements should balance meaningful participation against confidentiality.