The Court of Appeal has dismissed a knowing receipt claim against a bank for receipt of shares transferred to it in breach of trust, on the basis that the claimant did not have a continuing proprietary interest in the shares: Byers & Ors v The Saudi National Bank [2022] EWCA Civ 43. The decision provides helpful … Read more

The Court of Appeal has allowed a party to proceed with an action seeking to set aside a default judgment against him in earlier proceedings on the basis that the judgment was procured by fraud. The fact that, prior to the original proceedings, the party was aware of the factual circumstances now relied on to … Read more

The High Court has interpreted the contractual release in a settlement agreement as extending to unknown claims based on dishonesty and fraud, despite the terms of the release not expressly referring to such claims. The claimant was therefore precluded from pursuing further claims alleging deliberate wrongdoing following the receipt of what it said was new … Read more

In an appeal against two High Court decisions, the Court of Appeal has found that a fiduciary relationship is not a necessary pre-condition to relief in respect of an undisclosed commission paid to an agent. Instead, the court should determine whether the agent was obliged to provide information, advice or recommendation on an impartial or … Read more

The High Court has dismissed a claim brought by the liquidators of an investment company against a bank for knowing receipt, in circumstances where the investment company’s shares were transferred by a trustee (in breach of trust) to the bank, and used by the bank to discharge part of a debt owed by the trustee … Read more

In a recent decision the Court of Appeal has re-emphasised that the purpose of a search order (formerly known as an Anton Piller order) is to preserve evidence that is at risk of being destroyed by a defendant or potential defendant, and that a search order does not allow a claimant to inspect documents to … Read more

In the case of GML International Ltd v Harfield [2020] 7 WLUK 362, the High Court granted a post-judgment worldwide freezing order against a judgment debtor who had advanced a concocted case at trial. The Judge’s finding that there was a risk of the judgment debtor dissipating his assets appears to have been based substantially … Read more

In a recent decision, the High Court refused  the defendant financial advisers and agents permission to call expert evidence of financial market practices in relation to an allegation that they had acted dishonestly: Carr v Formation Group Plc [2018] EWHC 3116. The court noted that the standard of honesty is an objective one, and it … Read more