London International Disputes Week 2021 (LIDW21), held earlier in May, came at arguably one of the most critical times for dispute resolution in the UK. This year has not only seen the UK officially leave the EU (creating the potential for great divergences in legislation and regulation), but has also seen court hearings shift online due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Continue reading
New requirements for the preparation of witness evidence in the Business and Property Courts (B&PCs) have been introduced in the form of Practice Direction (PD) 57AC and Appendix, and apply to all trial witness statements signed on or after 6 April 2021.
A key feature of the new regime is the requirement, at paragraph 3.2 of PD 57AC, for the witness statement to list all documents the witness has referred to, or been referred to, for the purpose of providing the evidence set out in the statement. It’s fair to say that this is also the most controversial feature of the new regime, being the one point to split the Witness Evidence Working Group (and its implementation sub-committee, of which I was a member).
What must be pleaded when dishonest assistance is alleged against a company? Is there a special rule for large companies that differs from the rules applicable to individual natural persons?
This issue arose recently in Stanford International Bank Ltd v HSBC Bank Plc, when the Court of Appeal considered two claims by the liquidators of the claimant (SIB), a vehicle used for one of the “largest and most prolonged Ponzi schemes in history”, against HSBC, the defendant bank with which it held various accounts. One of those claims was for an account or equitable compensation in respect of HSBC’s alleged dishonest and/or reckless assistance in breaches of trust and fiduciary duty undertaken by SIB’s owner.
