News & Events
News & Events
We are delighted to announce that James Leonard KC has been nominated Pro Bono KC of the Year at the 2026 Bar Pro Bono Awards for his pro bono work in the landmark case of Buzzard-Quashie v Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police [2025] EWCA Civ 1397. The Bar Pro Bono Awards, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, recognise and celebrate the remarkable pro bono achievements of the Bar in England and Wales. Each year, the awards shine a light on the exceptional pro bono work carried out by barristers. The 2026 Bar Pro Bono Awards ceremony will be taking place on Tuesday, 19th May at Inner Temple, London. James Leonard KC has been shortlisted for Pro Bono KC of the…
News 8 Apr, 2026
We are delighted to announce that Charlotte Elves has been included in The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100’ list for 2026. Every year, The Lawyer compiles a list of members that that they feel have made an impact on the legal world and have excelled in their field. Their ‘Hot 100’ rates on excellence and relevance. It covers “an incredibly diverse mix of legal professionals; scrappers from the rough and tumble of criminal law; sophisticated corporate dealmakers; intellectuals and silver-tongued advocates from barristers’ profession; the in-house counsel with the ear of their CEOs; associates rising to greatness; and even the occasional professional with no legal qualifications at all who is nevertheless showing the industry how to better itself. But whatever world they come from,…
News 26 Jan, 2026
The Lawyer has revealed its ‘Top 10 Appeals of 2026’ and we are thrilled to share that Charlotte Elves has been mentioned for her involvement in one of this year’s biggest cases, Município De Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Limited & Ors. There are plenty of lawsuits heading to the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the High Court, and The Lawyer has unveiled its top appeals and cases to look out for this year. Outer Temple’s Charlotte Elves has been featured in The Lawyer’s Top 10 Appeals of 2026 for her involvement in Município De Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Limited & Ors. The case, commenced by 620,000 claimants after an environmental disaster in Brazil, has been one of the most closely watched disputes in the…
External Publications, News 21 Jan, 2026
Fiona Horlick KC and Charlotte Elves act for the Municipality Claimants (MCs) in a contempt application arising out of Município De Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Limited & Ors [2025] EWHC 1601 (TCC). The case is currently litigated before the Technology and Construction Court, following the collapse of the Fundão Dam in 2015. The Contempt Application was brought in October 2024, alleging that the Defendant mining corporation had interfered in the due administration of justice by procuring and funding a claim before the Brazilian Constitutional Court with the aim of removing the MCs access to the English Courts in the ongoing proceedings. The Defendant sought strike out on the basis that the Contempt Application: Was an abuse of process because…
News 26 Jun, 2025
The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Darby v Wang in which Helen Pugh acted for the successful appellant. The Court of Appeal once again emphasised the need to adhere to the procedural and other safeguards enjoyed by defendants in civil claims facing contempt of court proceedings. The Background The case of Wang v Darby [2021] EWHC 3054 made waves from the outset when it was taken as authority for the proposition that cryptocurrencies could constitute property subject to a trust. In this latest set of proceedings, cryptocurrencies were again the focus; this time in relation to a defendant’s duty to provide disclosure of assets ancillary to a worldwide freezing order. The claimant issued contempt proceedings on the…
News 4 Feb, 2025
Event Date: 7 Nov, 2024
We are delighted to invite you to our ‘Contempt of Court In Commercial Disputes’ Breakfast Seminar on Thursday, 7th November at The Reform Club, London. You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers for a breakfast seminar focusing on contempt of court in commercial disputes in the Business and Property Courts. With the Law Commission Consultation Paper closing on 29 November 2024, high profile committals of Soophia Khan, Graham Darby and Tommy Robinson, and near-misses for Katie Price and Oleg Deripaska, contempt of court is an essential part of a commercial litigator’s toolkit. Members of Outer Temple’s commercial and business crime teams together with guest speakers will discuss a range of contempt matters across three panels: Panel One – ‘Caselaw…
Outer Temple’s Helen Pugh, James Leonard KC and Charlotte Elves were instructed in Commercial Bank of Dubai SC & Ors v Al Sari. The Court of Appeal handed down judgment which clarifies the law on alternative service in contempt proceedings. The Court of Appeal have clarified the law on alternative service in contempt proceedings in an important judgment handed down in Commercial Bank of Dubai SC & Ors v Al Sari [2024] EWCA Civ 643. The Court of Appeal accepted the submission of the 1st Appellant (represented on appeal by Helen Pugh of Outer Temple Chambers) and 2nd Appellant (represented on appeal by James Leonard KC and Charlotte Elves) that an order permitting alternative service in a previous phase of…
News 13 Jun, 2024
On 22 May 2024, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in İşbilen v Turk [2024] EWCA Civ 568 in which James Counsell KC and Helen Pugh were instructed. James Counsell KC and Helen Pugh acted successfully for their client, Selman Turk in his appeal against the immediate custodial sentence for Contempt of Court imposed by the High Court. In this long-running, complex civil fraud case, the defendant was found in contempt of court for breaching disclosure obligations ancillary to a proprietary injunction aimed at recovering funds allegedly misappropriated from the claimant. In a judgment dated 6 March 2024, the defendant was sentenced to 12 months’ immediate imprisonment. Following a successful application for bail made, unusually, to the Court of…
News 24 May, 2024
Jeremy Scott-Joynt analyses the powers of CPR 71 proceedings and its importance in his recent Court of Appeal case, Westrop v Harrath. Civil courts can do lots of things. They decide whether a deal is really a deal. They tell people which parent they get to live with. They decide if someone’s been discriminated against, or wrongly kicked out of their job. Or if a public body has done its job right. Mostly, though, they decide who owes whom – and how much. And when a court has decided someone owes you, you’re going to want them to pay up. No surprise, then, that a sizeable chunk of the Civil Procedure Rules deals with how – if you’re a judgment…
News 3 Jan, 2024
The Court of Appeal has provided an authoritative guide to the procedure required to find a debtor in contempt under Part 71 of the Civil Procedure Rules following an appeal concerning contempt of court in which Jeremy Scott-Joynt successfully acted for the appellant. In its judgment, handed down on 22 December 2023 under neutral citation [2023] EWCA Civ 1566 following a hearing on 19 December, the Court considered what ought to happen where a judgment debtor did not appear before the Court when ordered to do so under Part 71 – but where personal service had not been undertaken. In doing so, it stressed “the need for full compliance with the different parts of the Part 71 procedure before the making…
News 22 Dec, 2023
Fiona Horlick KC successfully acted for the appellant in his appeal against an order for committal to prison for contempt of court in the Court of Appeal on 12 December 2023. The judgment is now available [2023] EWCA Civ 1504. Fiona had not acted for the appellant at the original hearing but was instructed at short notice for the appeal. The judgement reiterated the fundamental importance of the correct procedure being followed in contempt proceedings. The appellant had been a designated member of an LLP. Committal proceedings were brought against the LLP only. However, the original judge wrongly found that she had could adjudicate on a contempt allegation against the appellant personally. As stated by Warby J “…there were two separate…
News 21 Dec, 2023
Robert Dickason and Joshua Hitchens have secured the dismissal of Contempt Proceedings arising out of the widely reported case of Muyepa v Ministry of Defence [2022] EWHC 2648 (KB). Robert Dickason and Joshua Hitchens, instructed by Marc Livingston, Simon Barker and Catriona Virden of Janes Solicitors, have secured the dismissal of Contempt Proceedings brought against their clients, Brian and Racheal Muyepa. The Proceedings, which arose out of Mr. Muyepa’s record £3.7m claim for non-freezing cold injuries against the Ministry of Defence, will now not proceed to trial, meaning that Mr. and Mrs. Muyepa will not be found guilty of Contempt of Court and will not face the prospect of being committed to prison for Contempt of Court. Find out more…
News 12 Oct, 2023
