The litigation funding landscape in the Cayman Islands is changing. Whilst maintenance and champerty are still both crimes and torts, draft legislation has been prepared which would abolish them and permit funding. In the meantime, the Caymanian judiciary has acknowledged that, provided adequate protections are in place, funding can facilitate better access to justice, and has blessed different funding arrangements. Continue reading
Contract providing For “all reasonable costs” meant assessment on the indemnity basis
In Alafco Irish Aircraft Leasing Sixteen Ltd v Hong Kong Airlines Ltd, the Commercial Court held that a contract specifying that a party was entitled to “all reasonable costs and expenses” of litigation, in connection with preserving its contractual rights, meant that it was entitled to assessment of costs on the indemnity basis. Continue reading
In an era of ever-increasing complexity of commercial cases, in particular involving allegations of cross-border fraud, lengthy trials are on the rise. In recent years, one need only point to Berezovsky v Abramovich (16 weeks) and Libyan Investment Authority v Goldman Sacs International (seven weeks), as examples of the phenomenon for ultra-high value claims occupying the Commercial Court’s docket for weeks at a time. Continue reading