News & Events
News & Events
Read Helen Pugh’s latest article in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law on Crypto fraud and the bona fide purchaser for value defence. Helen Pugh was recently published in the January 2023 edition of JBIFL where she considered the fundamental issue of the application of the bona fide purchaser for value defences to crypto transactions tainted by fraud. The key issue for 2023/24 The courts of England and Wales have repeatedly recognised that at least some digital assets can be a type of property for the purposes of granting a claimant proprietary and freezing injunctions and for the purpose of the jurisdictional gateways. As these early claims proceed through the courts, the focus needs to turn to a defendant’s…
Banking, Commercial, Legal Blog & Publications 13 Feb, 2023
Justina Stewart and Joshua Cainer identify seven key themes to take away from the Law Commission’s recently published ‘Digital Assets: Consultation Paper’. The Law Commission’s ‘Digital Assets: Consultation Paper’ is a masterful discussion of many key issues relating to digital assets. It comprises over 500 pages of legal analysis along with 47 questions for which the Law Commission has opened a period of consultation ending on 4 November 2022. It is also ideally timed – whilst the Law Commission’s proposals are only provisional (pending consultation), interest in, and disputes concerning, digital assets show no signs of abating. As practitioners continue to see an ever-increasing fallout from the so-called “crypto winter”, alongside gathering momentum on crypto-related fraud, margin call and mis-selling claims, much of…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial 28 Sep, 2022
Outer Temple’s Helen Pugh has written a detailed article titled ‘Misselling Cryptoassets’, where she explores the collapse of Terra USD and Luna. Helen Pugh has written an article discussing the lawsuit against Binance for ‘mis-selling’ of Terra USD and Luna after their massive collapse. This collapse was one of the biggest crypto crashes of all time, losing nearly $40 billion. Within the article, Helen examines this further by exploring three categories of claims: Misstatement/ misrepresentation claimsProfessional negligence; andRegulatory claims Please read the full article here. Find out more Helen Pugh specialises in general commercial litigation, civil fraud, contentious insolvency and company law issues, and professional negligence. Her practice has a strong international element with an expertise in jurisdictional disputes and conflict of law issues, including as they arise…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial 28 Sep, 2022
After a long running dispute, the DIFC Court of Appeal has dismissed the claim in Massun v Mousi & Ors. Outer Temple members, David Russell KC and Stephen Doherty, acted for the Second and Third Defendants. Stephen Doherty has written an article in relation to the Massun v Mousi & Ors case that he and David Russell KC were instructed on. They both acted for the Second and Third defendants. Stephen Doherty analyses the case in this article, exploring the different points of law relevant to individuals or families holding their wealth through complex corporate structures and trusts as well as potential risks that can come about. Please read the full article here. Find out more David Russell KC commenced…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial, News, International 28 Sep, 2022
Outer Temple’s Lydia Seymour analyses the recent decision in CRAFT v POPE. Directors’ Duties – remedies when property is taken in breach of duty. Lydia Seymour, who was instructed by Hugh James, acted for the successful Claimant in CRAFT (Ceredigion Recycling and Furniture Team), an important Chancery Division decision on remedies in cases involving misappropriation of company assets by Directors. This is a useful decision on how remedies should be determined in a situation in which company directors have wrongfully converted company property to themselves—should the property simply be returned in full, or is it open to the directors to argue that they should have credit for sums that they would have received had they acted in accordance with their duties? In this…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial 26 Sep, 2022
David Russell QC has co-authored a feature in the MENA Business Law Review, looking at the Agreement between the UAE and India on Juridicial and Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters. The Agreement between the United Arab Emirates and India on Juridicial and Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters (the “Treaty”) was signed in 1999 and ratified in 2000. In January 2020, the Government of India notified the UAE as a “reciprocating territory” for the purposes of recognising UAE civil judgments in India without a re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute. The Treaty is a reflection of the close cultural and economic ties between the two countries. The mutual recognition of civil judgments between a civil…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial, International 11 Apr, 2022
2021 saw the fifth anniversary of the first disputes registered before the Courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Peter Smith takes this opportunity to consider the cases that the ADGM Courts have heard. The Courts publish a searchable list of claims before them. The first claims were registered at the Courts in 2017, and the numbers of cases show a swift increase over the intervening five years from seven claims in 2017, 13 in 2018, eight in 2019, 53 in 2020 and to well over 100 in 2021. An early indication is that the Courts are highly likely to surpass the 2021 total in 2022. Many, if not most, of the cases registered before the Courts relate to claims…
Arbitration, Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial 11 Apr, 2022
Stephen Doherty explores some recent cases involving “Quincecare Duty”, which has existed for over thirty years, and what these new precedents mean for modern banking fraud cases. “Quincecare Duty” was established in Barclays Bank plc v Quincecare Ltd [1992] 4 All ER 363, and tells us that a bank or financial institution may be liable for processing a fraudulent transaction if the bank has reasonable grounds for believing that there has been an attempt to defraud its customer. Remarkably, it was not until the Supreme Court handed down judgment in 2019, in Singularis Holdings Ltd (In Official Liquidation) (A Company Incorporated in the Cayman Islands) v Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd [2019] UKSC 50, that a claimant had successfully argued…
Business Crime, Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial, Financial Services 8 Apr, 2022
The case of Brownlie II highlighted a number of jurisdiction questions. Joshua Cainer acted as a Junior on the case and takes a look at the implications of the decision on commercial law. Joshua Cainer considers some of the outstanding questions about jurisdiction in commercial cases relying on claims in tort following the Supreme Court’s decision in FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Lady Brownlie [2021] UKSC 45, [2021] 3 WLR 1011 (‘Brownlie II’). Whilst that case concerned a claim for personal injury, it is likely to have effects on cases involving questions of private international law in a far broader range of practice areas, particularly commercial law. This is a case brought by Lady Christine Brownlie, both in her…
Commercial, Legal Blog & Publications 8 Apr, 2022
In one of the first expositions by the DIFC Court of the effect of Schedule 4 of the DIFC Insolvency Law, the case confirmed that the UNCITRAL Model Law applies in the DIFC only in relation to corporate insolvency. David Russell QC and David Holloway appeared as counsel. This case has generated great interest and was recently included as a Case Focus in Lexis Middle East Law Alert March/April 2022. David Russell QC and David Holloway appeared as counsel and have also written a more detailed Case Comment, first published in the MENA Business Law Review 2022 First Quarter. What happened? An application was made by Trustees who had been appointed by the Abu Dhabi Court in some insolvency proceedings.…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial, Insolvency and Restructuring 8 Apr, 2022
There have been a number of recent cases concerning cryptoassets, many of which will have an impact on the legal landscape going forward. Chloë Bell provides an update on cases and developments. The attached article, Cryptoassets Update, provides an update on cryptoasset cases and industry developments in recent months. It also includes an update on member activity in this specialist area of law. Case Updates In this article, the following cases are summarised: Wang v Darby [2021] EWHC 3054 (Comm) 17 November 2021Sally Jayne Danisz v Persons Unknown and others [2022] EWHC 280 (QB) 5 January 2022Mr Dollar Bill v Maxim Vasilvsky, Huobi and others (unreported) 14 January 2022Tulip Trading Limited v Bitcoin Association for BSV and Others [2022] EWHC…
Legal Blog & Publications, Commercial, Commercial, News 8 Apr, 2022
Anthony Lo Surdo discusses the boom in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific and how arbitration helps to navigate the risk involved with national infrastructure projects. Parts of the Asia-Pacific are in the grip of a boom in infrastructure projects driven, in some cases, by China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and otherwise by historically low global interest rates which has enabled sovereign states either alone or in partnership with private enterprise to fund projects that were hitherto merely a pipedream. In Australia alone, the 12 largest infrastructure projects total in excess of $A80 billion and include the Westconnex road project (NSW, $A16 billion), the Sydney Metro (NSW, $A12 billion), the Western Sydney Airport (NSW, $A5.3 billion), the Melbourne Metro Tunnel ($A11…
Arbitration, Commercial, Legal Blog & Publications, News 2 Dec, 2021
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