The Offshore Litigation Blog and our contributors
The Harneys Offshore Litigation Blog is a unique online hub for news and insights about offshore litigation in jurisdictions including the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda. We are the authoritative resource for recent cases, jurisdictional news, court lists, interviews with the judiciary and even some tips on island life.
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Wrapping it up
In the recent decision of CF v DLG, the BVI Commercial Court held that a two-step process is to be preferred over the use of “wrap up orders” in Norwich Pharmacal proceedings. The applicant, a judgment creditor, sought Norwich Pharmacal relief against registered agency service providers to the judgment debtor, for information to assist with considering its enforcement options.
03 Apr 2024
No penalty without clarity
In a recent decision of the King’s Bench Division of England and Wales the Court set aside an order (O2) that extended time for compliance with an earlier disclosure order (O1). O2, having been endorsed with a pena…
01 Mar 2024
Far reaching requests for disclosure - A warning
The High Court of England & Wales recently considered the scope of disclosure required to be undertaken by a party in the case of The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation v Barclays Bank Plc.
06 Feb 2024
Judgment handed down in ChainSwap v Persons Unknown: the first BVI freezing order against persons unknown concerning crypto fraud
The BVI Commercial Court has today (4 May 2022) handed down its judgment in ChainSwap v Persons Unknown.
04 May 2022
BVI Commercial Court freezes assets held by unknown hackers in support of crypto tracing claim
By order made on 15 March 2022 in ChainSwap v Persons Unknown, the BVI Commercial Court has continued a worldwide freezing order against unknown hackers, who exploited the applicant’s software and used it to steal large quantities of cryptocurrency tokens from private users and projects.
17 Mar 2022
Grand Court rejects notion of “hybrid” orders and emphasises the finality principle
In the long-running case of ArcelorMittal v Essar Global Fund Ltd & Anor the Grand Court has dismissed the Defendants’ application to set aside the Norwich Pharmacal order (NPO) made in 2019. The Defendants, having unsuccessfully challenged the NPO at first instance and on appeal, sought to set it aside on the grounds that subsequent commencement of a conspiracy claim in England and an avoidance action in New York, amounted to a material change of circumstance that rendered the NPO unnecessary.
18 Nov 2021
Access to data: A beneficiary’s privilege
In a judgment dated 11 March 2020 in the Dawson-Damer v Taylor Wessing litigation, the Court of Appeal confirmed that legal advice obtained for the benefit of a trust cannot be withheld from a beneficiary where it is responsive to that beneficiary’s subject access request (SAR) under the UK Data Protection Act (DPA).
26 May 2021
Cayman Islands Court of Appeal hands down leading decision on Norwich Pharmacal order in Cayman and refuses permission to appeal to the Privy Council
The Essar group has had a set-back in the continuing disclosure action by commercial rival, ArcelorMittal, in connection with an unpaid arbitral award now well in excess of US$1.5 billion.
10 May 2021
Privy Council analyses the validity of family trusts
In the recent decision of Webb v Webb [2020] EWHC 22, on appeal from the Court of Appeal of the Cook Islands, the Privy Council (the Board) examined, among other issues, the invalidity of two trusts on the ground that the settlor had failed to establish a sufficient alienation of assets into the trust, having regard to the retention of the associated rights and powers which proved synonymous with ownership. The appeal arose in relation to a dispute over the division of matrimonial assets.
25 Sep 2020