High Court: Commercial Court judgments, 2020

On an application for an interim injunction affecting freedom of expression, the ordinary American Cyanamid approach is modified by section 12(3) of the Human…

A mandatory order enforcing a maritime letter of indemnity will not be discharged merely because the obligor is technically insolvent. The obligor must prove…

Cryptoassets such as bitcoin are capable of being property at common law, at least where there is a serious issue to be tried. The court may grant proprietary…

A jurisdiction clause binds a non-party only where the applicable national law shows that the non-party succeeded to the original contracting party’s rights…

Case management is an exercise in pragmatic judgment directed to securing a fair and effective trial. Where issues have been deliberately separated for several…

A contempt application gives adequate particulars if, read against the relevant background, it provides a clear and succinct summary which enables the alleged…

A party’s failure to pay crystallised costs orders may justify an unless order debarring it from defending proceedings. The court must consider all relevant…

For the purposes of Article 267 TEU, a national court may refer an EU-law question where deciding that question is necessary to give judgment. A ruling from…

Rescission of a voidable transaction is an all-or-nothing remedy. Once rescission occurs, any rescission trust over traceable proceeds arises by operation of…

A costs order creates a debt, or something analogous to a debt, rather than liability for damage caused by a wrong. A claim for contribution between co-debtors…

On a without-notice freezing-order application, materiality is assessed objectively and in context. Applicants must disclose facts which may affect the…

On a section 67 challenge under the Arbitration Act 1996, the court must determine jurisdiction afresh by construing the arbitration agreement for itself. A…

A speed and consumption warranty in a time charterparty is ordinarily a contractual promise, not a representation of the vessel’s current or recent…

Pending committal proceedings may continue after a bankruptcy order where they concern alleged contempt and seek punishment for personal misconduct rather than…

Under CPR 19.2(2)(a), joinder involves two questions: whether the proposed party can assist the court to resolve matters in dispute, and whether joinder is…

A case management stay may be ordered where pending appellate proceedings substantially overlap with issues fixed for determination in the present case. The…

When assessing whether an offer of security for costs has been bettered, the court compares the rejected offer with the security ultimately ordered. The…

Articles 33 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No.1215/2012 apply only where the second-seised Member State court’s jurisdiction is based on Article 4 or Articles 7 to…

An aggregation clause referring to claims attributable to one source or original cause requires a causative link between the proposed unifying cause and every…

A process described as non-binding arbitration is not an arbitration agreement under Arbitration Act 1996, s 6(1), where the parties are not bound by the…

Applications to amend pleadings must be assessed by reference to the material facts required to formulate the claim, the realistic prospect of success, the…

An anti-suit injunction will ordinarily be granted where, to a high degree of probability, the applicant establishes an enforceable English arbitration…

An admitted computational mistake in an arbitral award may constitute a serious irregularity under section 68(2)(i) of the Arbitration Act 1996, even though it…

A buyer remains liable for the contractual price unless it proves, on the balance of probabilities, that a failure was caused by a manufacturing defect…

For security for costs, a person may be resident in more than one jurisdiction. A person who habitually and lawfully chooses to spend a significant part of…

General words incorporating a charterparty into a bill of lading do not automatically transfer every charterparty obligation to the bill of lading holder. The…

A final anti-suit injunction will ordinarily be granted to restrain foreign proceedings brought in breach of an exclusive English arbitration agreement, unless…

On an application for a worldwide freezing order, the court must be satisfied that the claimant has a good arguable case, a real risk of unjustified…

A broker may terminate a customer agreement where the customer permits unauthorised access to the trading account, if the contract confers that right. That…

Disclosure issues in the Business and Property Courts should be formulated by reference to the pleaded issues where those issues are central and the…

A referral under CPR Part 71 is mandatory where a judgment debtor fails to comply with an examination order. The referring court must certify the specific…

The court may release or modify an undertaking restricting collateral use of disclosed documents where there are special circumstances providing cogent and…

Contempt by breach of an injunction is established where the contemnor had notice of an unambiguous order, deliberately performed the prohibited act, and knew…

Norwich Pharmacal relief is exceptional and confined to disclosure of necessary information, rather than evidence or material sought to explore whether a claim…

Waiver of legal professional privilege requires a sufficient reference to privileged legal advice and reliance on that advice to advance a case on an issue for…

Where foreign law may apply but a claimant does not rely on its content, the claimant may plead a complete case on the basis of the default application of…

In construing interconnected commercial contracts, the court identifies the objective meaning of the language used, read in its documentary, factual and…

In proceedings to enforce a New York Convention award, a party may be barred from raising a jurisdictional objection which it knew of but deliberately withheld…

For section 32(1)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, a concealed fact must be essential to pleading a prima facie cause of action. Evidence which strengthens a…

A tribunal breaches its duty of procedural fairness where it assesses damages on a basis that was not advanced and was not fairly in issue, without giving the…

Service of a defence by email is ineffective where the receiving party has not previously indicated in writing that it will accept service electronically.…

Where litigation is suitable for expedition but a pending appeal may affect its future course, the court may direct preparatory steps so that the case is ready…

Permission to use documents obtained under a Norwich Pharmacal order for a collateral purpose may be granted where the applicant shows cogent and persuasive…

Relief from sanctions for a seriously late witness statement requires application of the three-stage test in Denton v White [2014] EWCA Civ 906. A serious and…

An unless order leading to strike-out should be made only where the sanction would be justified in all the circumstances. Its automatic operation makes it one…

Documents disclosed in civil proceedings, and information derived from them, may ordinarily be used only for those proceedings. Reading, searching or reviewing…

A statement of case may be struck out for abuse where it introduces a new claim outside the ambit of the claim form. A new claim ordinarily requires a material…

On summary judgment, the court must assess whether a claim has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success without conducting a mini-trial. An…

A jurisdiction clause expressed to govern the parties’ legal or contractual relationship may extend beyond the individual contract in which it appears. It can…

Contractual damages put the claimant in the position it would have occupied had the contract been performed. Where a defendant was free to continue trading…

A sanctions covenant framed as a negative covenant does not suspend accrued repayment obligations unless the contract clearly provides for suspension. Foreign…

An anti-suit injunction will generally not restrain foreign proceedings brought solely to obtain protective interim measures in support of substantive claims…

Contempt proceedings should generally be heard in public. A private hearing is permissible only where the court is satisfied that one of the conditions in CPR…

A mortgagee or security holder exercising enforcement powers owes an equitable duty to act in good faith and for a proper purpose. Where it exercises a power…

Security for costs of a Part 20 claim depends on the court’s assessment of the contingent possibility that the claimant may ultimately bear those costs. The…

An agency relationship does not automatically impose identical fiduciary duties in every context. The scope of any fiduciary obligation depends on the parties’…

A court hearing an application under Arbitration Act 1996, section 66, may determine factual and legal issues which would constitute defences to an action on…

On an application to amend a defence, the court applies the low threshold of a real prospect of success. A proposed case need only be non-fanciful; the court…

On an application for summary judgment, the court may decide a sufficiently clear issue of law or contractual construction where the evidence is adequate…

For jurisdictional purposes under Section 5 of Title II of the Lugano II Convention, whether a director is in an employment relationship depends on whether…

Standard-form business interruption cover responding to interruption caused by an insured event does not ordinarily extend to temporary loss of use of premises…

Material adverse effect clauses are construed by ordinary principles of contractual construction. A carve-out exception comparing the target with participants…

On an application to set aside service out of the jurisdiction, the claimant must establish a serious issue to be tried, a good arguable case within a relevant…

When deciding whether to expedite a commercial trial, the court should assess objectively whether there is urgency, the state of the court list, the procedural…

Permission to amend pleadings or adduce evidence very late will ordinarily be refused where it threatens the trial date, lacks a good explanation, or causes…

Actual undue influence requires more than domination, trust, reliance or a failure to understand a transaction. The claimant must show that influence was…

A representation is construed objectively in its documentary and commercial context, having regard to its purpose and the effect it would have on a reasonable…

Under a marine insurance policy covering reasonable repair or replacement costs, recoverability is assessed objectively in the factual and commercial context…

On a summary judgment application concerning contractual damages, the court must determine whether the pleaded case has a realistic prospect of success without…

Under CPR 19.2(2)(b), a person may be joined where an issue involving that person and an existing party is connected with matters already in dispute and…

Costs of preparing for and attending an inquest may be recoverable as costs of and incidental to subsequent civil proceedings where they are reasonable and…

Exclusive jurisdiction under Article 24 of the Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 requires a strict assessment of the principal subject matter of the proceedings. A…

An exclusive English jurisdiction clause in an insurance contract must be given its ordinary meaning. Other policy provisions cannot disapply or substantially…

An order for third-party disclosure requires the applicant to satisfy the jurisdictional conditions in Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 31.17(3): the documents…

Under the Disclosure Pilot, parties must cooperate in defining, testing and refining electronic search parameters. A party should not conduct searches…

An English court is an appropriate forum to grant an anti-suit injunction enforcing an arbitration agreement with an English seat; forum conveniens…

A creditor may seek declaratory relief determining whether property held by a third party falls within freezing undertakings given to the court by that third…

Business interruption cover arising from a pandemic depends on the proper construction of each policy wording. Disease clauses may cover the consequences of a…

A commission agreement may require the introduction to be an effective cause of the transaction, even where the agreement contains no express effective-cause…

Legal advice privilege extends to confidential communications with foreign lawyers acting in their professional capacity, including foreign in-house lawyers.…

A negative declaration is a discretionary remedy whose touchstone is utility. The court must scrutinise whether it will resolve a real and present dispute…

Relief from sanctions under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 3.9 requires a structured three-stage assessment: the seriousness and significance of the breach…

Injunctions restraining calls on irrevocable letters of credit or similar instruments are available only in exceptional circumstances. The enhanced merits…

A voyage-charter demurrage rate ordinarily liquidates the owner’s loss of use of the vessel as a freight-earning instrument during detention beyond laytime. It…

In deciding whether to extend the statutory time limit for an arbitration challenge, the court must consider all relevant circumstances. The Kalmneft factors…

A bill of lading may incorporate a charterparty’s governing-law and arbitration provisions where the wording clearly refers to them. The putative governing law…

Pre-action disclosure requires a two-stage analysis. The applicant must satisfy the jurisdictional conditions in CPR r. 31.16, including that disclosure is…

Permission to make a late amendment requires a clear and properly particularised pleading. A genuinely new claim must have a real, rather than fanciful…

A challenge to an arbitral award under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires more than disagreement with the tribunal’s factual findings or…

Where a party has a contractual entitlement to costs, the court retains its ordinary discretion under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, but will normally exercise it…

A guarantee instrument must be characterised by its actual terms. It may combine secondary guarantee obligations with primary indemnity or debt obligations. A…

Security for costs requires a qualifying ground under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 25 and a just exercise of discretion. A claimant alleging that security…

Where permission was required to serve a defendant out of the jurisdiction, the claimant bears the burden of showing that England is clearly the forum in which…

A claim may be struck out where the pleaded facts, assumed to be true, disclose no legally recognisable cause of action. The court may determine a clear…

A Part 71 examination may constitute a hearing held in public where the court exercises supervisory or other judicial decision-making functions. The absence of…

Where a defendant seeks to use funds subject to an arguable proprietary claim to pay legal costs, the court should first identify whether the defendant has…

For jurisdictional purposes, a contract’s classification depends on its principal purpose at the time of contracting. A contract whose purpose is transporting…

A party that has unconditionally admitted sums as due and owing may be sued on that freestanding obligation, even where the settlement agreement also requires…

A challenge under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires a serious procedural irregularity causing substantial injustice. Section 68 does not permit…

Contractual process-agent clauses should be construed purposively to secure a speedy and certain method of serving proceedings. Where the contract permits the…

A contractual claims-notification clause must be construed according to its wording, commercial purpose and factual context. Where compliance is a condition…

The power to set off a costs order against a judgment debt is discretionary. The governing question is whether set-off would be just and equitable. The court…

A contractual consent provision must be construed in the context of the agreement as a whole. It does not ordinarily permit the consent-provider to nullify or…

An application under CPR Part 71 may be made without notice where the Rules permit that procedure. The process is intended to be summary and straightforward.…

Under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court must identify each reasonably substantial issue which is capable of constituting a dispute within the…

When considering a restraint order under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the court asks whether there is a good arguable case that the property is realisable…

When managing a complex, phased trial, the court may revise an earlier case-management scheme where circumstances have materially changed. Relevant…

Contractual responsibility for discharging cargo remains with the shipowner unless the contract uses clear language transferring responsibility to charterers…

In applications concerning a freezing injunction and fraud pleadings, the court held that material non-disclosure normally starts with immediate discharge, but…

A charterparty negotiated on subjects is not binding merely because most subjects are lifted. Whether negotiations have produced a contract is judged…

Under a contractual indemnity, expenditure is “incurred” when the relevant party becomes legally liable for it. Actual payment is unnecessary unless the…

Where a court has recognised a foreign constitutional office-holder, consequential declarations should reflect only the issue actually decided. The court…

The Service Regulation provides a mandatory regime for serving civil or commercial proceedings on an EU Member State, unless the proceedings manifestly concern…

An all-monies guarantee is not confined to a particular facility or facility letter unless its terms impose that limitation. In a claim against guarantors, an…

Summary judgment may be granted where a defence has no realistic prospect of success and no other compelling reason requires a trial. The court must avoid a…

Under section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court may extend an agreed arbitration time bar where the respondent’s positive conduct materially…

Permission to amend a defence should be refused where the proposed case has no real prospect of success. In assessing that question, the court may examine the…

A contractual binding-effect provision embedded in provisions defining the Payment Amount and Excess GDP did not, on its proper construction, extend to the…

A later claim against a different alleged co-conspirator is not automatically an abuse merely because it could have been brought with earlier proceedings. The…

To obtain a worldwide freezing order, an applicant must establish a good arguable case, assets within or outside the jurisdiction, a real and objectively…

Contractual worked examples form part of the agreement and may determine the operation of a formula where they are integral to the contractual mechanism. They…

Contempt proceedings are civil but quasi-criminal. An applicant invoking the jurisdiction as a quasi-prosecutor must act dispassionately, fairly and in the…

Summary judgment should be granted only where the claim or defence has no realistic prospect of success. The court must avoid a mini-trial, while assessing the…

For summary judgment or strike out, the question is whether the claim has a realistic prospect of success. The court must avoid a mini-trial, but may conclude…

Under the disclosure pilot, Issues for Disclosure must be key issues in dispute which are crystallised in the statements of case and require contemporaneous…

A court determines contractual formation objectively from the parties’ words, conduct and negotiations. Informal dealings, draft memoranda and anticipatory…

In assessing costs summarily, the court may allow for the need to undertake thorough work in a substantial claim, particularly where the opposing party has put…

On an application for summary judgment, the claimant must prove liability and quantum, but a pleading is sufficient if it identifies the contract, the relevant…

On an appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court may correct an error of law but must read the award fairly, commercially and with…

A party that voluntarily withdraws from an arbitration cannot establish procedural unfairness merely because it later lacks representation at the hearing…

An express contractual duty of good faith is construed in its contractual and commercial context. Where it applies to a significant decision affecting a…

Permission to seek summary judgment under CPR 24.4(1) will generally be granted where the claim has been validly served, the defendant has had an opportunity…

Under CPR 39.3, a party absent from trial may have judgment set aside only if it acted promptly, had a good reason for absence, and has a reasonable prospect…

Where contractual documents contain apparently inconsistent provisions, the court should construe them together and find inconsistency only where effect cannot…

An unless order concerning further information is breached only where the response is plainly incomplete or insufficient in light of the order and the requests…

Section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1996 provides an exceptional route to extend an agreed arbitration time bar. Under section 12(3)(a), the circumstances must…

Her Majesty’s Government’s unequivocal recognition of a person as the constitutional president of a foreign state engages the one voice doctrine. The English…

An intermediary broker whose role is limited to transmitting communications between parties is not thereby subject to the full fiduciary duties owed by an…

Registration of an ICSID award under the Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Act 1966 and CPR r. 62.21 may be sought without notice. The reference…

Where a judgment debt is expressed in a foreign currency, the court may exercise its statutory discretion to set post-judgment interest by reference to the…

An agent submitting a tax refund claim expressly for a taxpayer will generally not owe the tax authority a personal duty of care merely because it acts as…

Expedition and the ordering of preliminary issues are matters of judicial discretion. The court must assess objectively whether there is good reason or…

An application under Arbitration Act s 68 requires proof of a qualifying serious irregularity and substantial injustice. A court will not intervene merely to…

For CPR 86.1, competing claims need not be claims of the same legal nature. A creditor’s claim to payment may compete with another claimant’s proprietary or…

A challenge to an arbitral tribunal’s exercise of powers to correct or interpret an award concerns the tribunal’s powers under Arbitration Act 1996, s…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires only one applicable gateway, established on the better of the argument standard. The merits…

Exemption clauses are construed by applying ordinary contractual principles, informed by special principles requiring sufficiently clear language before…

Regulatory conduct rules do not become contractual terms merely because a contract refers to them or describes the regulated firm’s obligations. Clear words…

Applications to set aside orders made in a party’s absence require the applicant to satisfy the applicable procedural requirements and, where time has expired…

Enforcement of a New York Convention award will ordinarily not be reopened to reconsider an illegality or bribery issue within the jurisdiction of the chosen…

A state which asserts and pursues a contractual claim subject to an arbitration clause assumes, in equity, the burden of complying with that clause in relation…

Summary judgment should be refused where a defendant has a realistic prospect of establishing that a foreign judgment lacked jurisdiction or was procured by…

Where an application fails, costs will generally follow the event, subject to reductions for costs genuinely wasted by amendments. Summary assessment may be…

Alternative service of proceedings on a contractually appointed process agent may be authorised retrospectively or prospectively where there is good reason. An…

In exchange transactions under a void contract, there is no immutable sequence for analysing enrichment, counter-restitution and change of position. The court…

Further disclosure supporting a worldwide freezing order or proprietary claim must be justified by practical utility and must remain proportionate. Where…

Where mixed fungible assets are depleted, tracing may be used to assess how much of a co-owner’s property remains, even where the claimant has no proprietary…

A contractual bailor with possessory rights may recover substantial damages from a bailee for loss of goods without proving that a separate security interest…

On summary judgment, the court must decide whether the opposing party has a realistic prospect of success, without conducting a mini-trial. A charter by demise…

A party named as shipper in a bill of lading may establish that it was wrongly identified. The contract of carriage is concluded when goods are presented for…

Article 6 does not ordinarily guarantee a party’s personal attendance at a civil trial. It requires a reasonable opportunity to know and answer the opposing…

Pre-action disclosure under CPR 31.16 is unusual in commercial litigation and requires a tightly focused request for documents likely to fall within standard…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the unsuccessful party will generally pay the successful party’s costs, but the court may make a different order after…

Waiver of legal professional privilege requires a sufficiently substantive reference to legal advice and reliance on that reference to support or advance a…

A contract for the sale of goods may require delivery of a specific item held by a third party, rather than merely tendering it for collection. Where the…

For jurisdiction under Article 8(1) of the Recast Brussels Regulation, the claim against the English anchor defendant must satisfy a Merits Test. It must be…

Where an exclusive English jurisdiction clause covers disputes arising from an agreement, a claim concerning the contractual consequences of proceedings…

A contractual law and jurisdiction clause may be enforced by a vessel owner where the bill of lading gives the owner, as subcontractor, the benefit of the…

Under Article 29 of the Brussels Regulation (Recast), proceedings concern the same cause where the basic facts and claimed rights and obligations coincide…

A third-party debt order under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 72, can attach only to a debt that is presently payable or will become payable by reason of an…

Where an arbitration challenge becomes unnecessary because an arbitrator resigns, resignation alone does not establish that the claimant was successful for…

In complex confiscation and proprietary litigation, claims concerning further assets may properly be advanced within existing proceedings where the statutory…

A foreign judgment may be enforced at common law where it is final and conclusive, concerns a definite sum, and was given by a court having jurisdiction under…

Where a claimant proves that knowingly false pre-contractual representations induced advance payments, the representor may be personally liable in deceit even…

Under Brussels I Recast Regulation, a court arguably designated by an exclusive choice-of-court agreement has priority to determine its own jurisdiction. The…

An anti-suit injunction may enforce an undertaking requiring foreign proceedings to be pursued only by London arbitration. The court ordinarily grants relief…

Norwich Pharmacal relief requires a claimant to show a good arguable case of wrongdoing and that justice requires the particular assistance sought. The…

Permission to amend pleadings is discretionary and must further the overriding objective. The court balances the injustice to the applicant if permission is…

A defendant who wishes to contest jurisdiction must file an acknowledgment of service and make the jurisdiction application within the prescribed period.…

An application to reopen an order made in a party’s absence requires prompt action, a good reason for non-attendance and a reasonable prospect of success. Lack…

For domestic service of a claim form, an order requiring service by a specified date ordinarily means service in accordance with the procedural rules…

A public body’s lack of statutory power to enter a contract means that it lacks contractual capacity and the contract is void. Public-law unlawfulness in the…

A contractual obligation to develop a project with due diligence and expedition does not ordinarily include an obligation to market or sell units forming part…

In sentencing for contempt of court, custody is a last resort. The court must assess the substance and seriousness of the contempts rather than treating…

Where an injunction has been refined to identify precisely what must be done and by when, the final order should generally omit superseded general wording that…

Contempt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. A defendant may be liable for acts carried out through agents whom he controls, directs or encourages. An…

Disclosure in competition damages claims must be limited to material that is relevant, necessary and proportionate. The court must consider the nature of the…

An interim anti-suit injunction may be granted on contractual principles, or by analogy where the contractual counterparty is disputed, if the applicant shows…

A contractual substitution may amount to novation by conduct where the parties’ dealings, viewed in context, demonstrate acceptance of the new contracting…

The unsuccessful party ordinarily pays the successful party’s costs, but the court may make a different order having regard to all the circumstances, including…

A contractual commission clause may require payment by reference to a monetary grant made to an entity other than the contracting defendant, where that entity…

Where a shipbuilding contract contains an operative extension-of-time regime covering the relevant delay, the prevention principle has no application. The…

A foreign judgment creates an issue estoppel only if the foreign legal system gives the particular issue preclusive effect. The judgment must also determine…

In an indemnity requiring a charterer to provide security to secure a vessel’s release from arrest, “forthwith” means within the shortest practicable time…

For an interim injunction in support of arbitration, the applicant must establish urgency, a good arguable case, and a real risk of dissipation. The injunction…

The removal of a trustee is a drastic remedy. It is justified where necessary to secure the welfare of beneficiaries and the competent administration of the…

A contractual notice clause requiring notice “as soon as possible and in any event” by a specified longstop date creates cumulative conditions where the…

A freezing order requires solid evidence of a current real risk that assets will be unjustifiably dissipated so as to frustrate enforcement. At an…

Under section 66 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court may enforce an arbitral award only to the extent that the award has established the relevant right to…

A debt owed by a bank under a custody agreement is owed to the contractual customer, even where the customer manages assets for another and that other person…

Security for costs should be varied only where the claimant establishes a material change in circumstances. A claimant seeking to show that payment would…

Arbitration challenges under sections 67 and 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 should be determined promptly and within the statutory framework of speed, finality…

A contractual decision-maker entrusted to determine whether non-disclosure or misrepresentation was innocent must exercise that power rationally. The…

In case management, disclosure must be tailored to the pleaded issues and remain reasonable and proportionate. Model C disclosure was ordered where documents…

A broker’s entitlement to transaction-based commission ordinarily depends on its services being the effective cause of the transaction, unless the contract…

Costs should reflect the work and issues generated by each claim, rather than simply the number of successful or unsuccessful parties. Where common costs are…

The court may, under section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 and its inherent jurisdiction, make proportionate orders designed to secure compliance with…

A contractual indemnity for assets damaged before completion is construed from the contract as a whole, with the wording receiving particular weight in a…

Expert evidence is admissible only where it is reasonably required to resolve the proceedings. The court should consider necessity, assistance and…

Early discharge from imprisonment for contempt is exceptional where the sentence has both punitive and coercive functions and the underlying breach remains…

A guarantee’s label, primary-obligor wording and reference to payment on demand do not determine whether it is autonomous. The court must construe the…

Permission to amend is discretionary. The court must balance the injustice to the applicant if permission is refused against the prejudice to the opposing…

In exceptional circumstances, a court may proceed with a committal hearing in a respondent’s absence. The discretion must be exercised with great care, giving…

Contractual obligations to provide security or defence funds under a letter of indemnity are freestanding obligations. They do not depend on proving actual or…

Jurisdiction clauses are construed objectively and may extend across related contracts only where their wording and the contractual context support that…

Enforcement of a New York Convention award is mandatory unless an exhaustive statutory ground for refusal is established. The resisting party bears the burden…

A worldwide freezing injunction requires more than an arguable claim. The applicant must show a good arguable case, a realistically quantifiable loss, and…

Under the Disclosure Pilot, disclosure must remain directed to the issues and be reasonable and proportionate. A Model D order requires a reasonable and…

A contractual indemnity requiring a charterer to provide security for the release of an arrested vessel may be enforced by mandatory injunction where damages…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 3.1(7), reconsideration after a contested inter partes decision is ordinarily confined to a material change of…

The court’s power under section 44(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996 is narrow. An order must be necessary for preserving evidence or assets and must involve as…

Under Libyan law, an administrative decision made by a body with relevant power is presumed valid and effective unless withdrawn, superseded, suspended or…

A demurrage time-bar clause requiring a claim and all supporting documents requires production of documents objectively needed to substantiate each material…

Summary judgment may be granted where the pleaded facts, taken at their highest, cannot establish a legally effective defence. An alleged assurance must be…

A guarantee requiring a written demand is engaged by a document giving a clear intimation that payment is required. The word “demand” is unnecessary, but…

Contempt for breach of an English injunction requires proof, to the criminal standard, that the respondent knew the order, deliberately acted or failed to act…

Contempt of court must be proved by the applicant beyond reasonable doubt. The court may rely on cumulative evidence and draw inferences, but must be sure of…

A contractual obligation to perform a specified number of shipments is not contingent merely because some shipments are described as unscheduled. The contract…

On a summary judgment application, the court may decide a short point of contractual construction where it has the evidence necessary for proper determination…

Materiality in insurance non-disclosure is an objective question of fact. The court makes its own assessment of whether the circumstance would influence a…

Requests for further information and Norwich Pharmacal relief are governed by necessity. The court will not order requests which seek evidence, test a party’s…

State-immunity issues should ordinarily be addressed at an early stage because the court must give effect to immunity even where the state does not appear.…

At the summary judgment or strike-out stage, the court asks whether the claim has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. It must avoid a…

A claim for restitution may arise where services are provided at the defendant’s request in anticipation of a contract which is never concluded. Enrichment may…

A director’s conflicting interest in a transaction with the company must be disclosed fully, including its nature and extent. Where the interest concerns…

On consequential matters after judgment for damages, the court may permit collateral use of information obtained under a freezing order where there are cogent…

On an application for summary judgment, the court should decide a short, determinative point of law or construction where the relevant facts are available. It…

Contractual options incorporated into standard market documentation may be exercised by the method specified in incorporated definitions where the transaction…

For Limitation Act 1980 s 32(1)(b), a concealed fact must be essential to pleading a viable cause of action. Facts which merely strengthen the claim, provide…

An in-time application to extend a procedural deadline is governed by the overriding objective rather than the relief from sanctions framework. The court…

Where a contract provides for termination after a specified period following notification of a proposed replacement, the provision must be construed as a…

A contract governed by English law is not rendered invalid merely because its formation breached procurement legislation of another country. Contractual…

Where allegations have already been determined in earlier proceedings, their re-litigation will constitute an abuse of process only where it would be…

Where principal and security agreements contain different dispute-resolution clauses, the court should identify the subject matter and commercial purpose of…

Permission to amend a served statement of case depends on the overriding objective and the balance between prejudice to the applicant, the opposing party and…

On remission of an arbitral award, the tribunal’s jurisdiction is determined by the court’s order, read with the judgment and surrounding circumstances. Where…

Section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 does not confer jurisdiction to make orders directly against a non-party to the arbitration agreement. That conclusion…

Whether to order separate trials of liability and quantum requires a pragmatic balancing exercise under the overriding objective. The court must assess how the…

On an ex parte application for service out of the jurisdiction, material facts are those which could reasonably affect the decision or cause the court to doubt…

In an application to vary a proprietary injunction, a defendant may use funds arguably belonging to the claimant only after satisfying a three-stage test: an…

When a defence has a real prospect of success but success is improbable, the court may make a conditional order requiring payment into court. The defendant…

A defendant who has given undertakings until trial or further order cannot ordinarily obtain release merely by revisiting the merits of the interim order. The…

A freezing order requires a good arguable case on the underlying claim. Where contractual arrangements authorised delivery of cargo ashore without presentation…

A fiduciary claim must be proved on the pleaded case. Where the identity of the contracting party is disputed, the claimant must establish that the fiduciary…

Relief from the sanction imposed for late costs budgeting does not invariably require a separate application under CPR 3.9. A defaulting party may invoke the…

A defective attempt to serve originating process may be remedied under CPR rule 3.10 where it constitutes an attempted procedural step, the defendant knew of…

A representation agreement covering a specified asset does not extend to other assets merely because the parties collaborated in marketing or promoting them.…

An agreement to grant share options in lieu of salary is construed objectively from the parties’ correspondence and commercial context. An HMRC-approved market…

A bill of lading statement as to the apparent order and condition of goods records the master’s own reasonable assessment. Tendering a draft bill containing…

Under the Rome Convention, an implied choice of law requires a genuine positive choice demonstrated with reasonable certainty. An English jurisdiction clause…

When a written contract does not identify a party sufficiently clearly, the court may consider extrinsic evidence of what the parties said and did up to the…

For the purposes of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, related actions are assessed broadly and commonsensically. A sufficient connection may arise from overlapping…

Relief from sanctions under CPR 3.8 and 3.9 requires the court to assess the breach, any good reason for it, and what justice requires in all the…

A post-judgment freezing order requires evidence of a real risk of unjustified dissipation which may cause the judgment to go unsatisfied. The inquiry remains…

On an appeal against registration of a foreign judgment under the Brussels 1 Regulation, the appeal court has power to order disclosure because CPR 74.8…

On an application to vary an interim injunction, the court must first ask whether there is a serious question to be tried and then assess the balance of…

Permission to amend a pleading should be granted where the proposed claim has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and carries some degree of…

For the purposes of a challenge under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, a material application to correct or clarify an award postpones the commencement…

Under the Arbitration Act 1996, an application to continue or vary an urgent without-notice injunction after urgency has ceased is a fresh application. The…

Where a sophisticated commercial agreement gives participants an unqualified power to discharge an operator on notice, the power takes effect according to its…

A freezing injunction cannot be served out of the jurisdiction against a person who is not shown by a good arguable case to be a party to, or personally liable…

An order requiring affidavits to detail disclosures of confidential information requires particularity, not broad summaries. The evidence must enable the…

Whether to adjourn a listed hearing for counsel’s convenience is a case-management decision. The absence or unavailability of counsel is not, by itself, a…

Where parties enter a joint venture through written communications and conduct, the court determines the contract and its terms objectively from the whole…

A contractual duty of honesty may ordinarily be implied, but a broader duty of good faith requires a sufficient relational and commercial foundation or…