Kate’s casebook: six cases to watch this year – The Lawyer
Oligarchs, banking battles and commercial fights – it’s all going on in the courts next year
Last year was dominated by some major credit crunch litigation, with cases concerning compensation to Northern Rock shareholders taking centre stage.
This year, banking battles are still big business for London’s litigators, for example the Royal Bank of Scotland investors’ claim against a 2008 £12bn rights issue coming to a head.
Elsewhere the conspiracy allegations surrounding former Bahraini bank executive Majed Al Refai continue to swirl, with Addleshaw Goddard partner Mark Hastings taking on the case. It is the latest high-profile dispute for the partner, who represented the late Boris Berezovksy in his mammoth battle with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
Meanwhile, the private healthcare kickback against the new regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority is keeping Monckton Chambers’ barristers occupied and will prove a major fight in 2015.
Here are some of the key cases to keep an eye on…
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company and Bank Alkhair BSC v Al Refai, Kroll Associates UK Ltd, Alex Richardson and FTI Consulting Group Ltd
This $1bn conspiracy battle waged between Saudi-based property development company Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company (DARR) and former bank chief executive Al Refai is set to be one of the largest to hit the courts in 2015.
It was due to be heard in 2014 and has been split over two phases in order to break down and deal with the slew of allegations made, which include computer hacking and theft of information.
The fight began in 2010 when Majed Al Refai, a senior executive of Bahraini investment bank Bank Alkhair, was dismissed following the alleged discovery of money laundering.
The claimants launched claims of $1bn against the banker, accusing him of conspiring with the other defendants to extort money from the claimants.
DARR and Bank Alkhair argue that Al Refai, chartered accountant Kroll Associates and FTI Consulting Group attempted to ruin the bank’s commercial relationships.
They claim that, among other things, the defendants were spreading damaging rumours in meetings with investors and ratings agencies and published damaging and untrue allegations about the claimants in an email circulated to analysts.
The defendants deny any wrongdoing.
The legal line-up
For the claimants (1) Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company & (2) Bank Alkhair BSC
Maitland Chambers’ Anthony Trace QC and Jonathan Russen QC, Fountain Court’s Charles Béar QC and Paul Casey along with 5RB’s Mark Warby QC, instructed by Addleshaw Goddard partners Mark Hastings, Kambiz Larizadeh and David Engel
For the defendant Al Refai
Littleton Chambers’ Stuart Ritchie QC, instructed by PCB Litigation partner Steven Philippsohn
For the defendants Kroll Associates UK Ltd
One Essex Court’s Craig Orr QC, instructed by Slaughter and May partner Jonathan Cotton
For the defendants FTI Consulting Group Ltd
39 Essex Street’s Richard Spearman QC leading 5RB’s Godwin Busuttil, instructed by Stephenson Harwood partner John Fordham
Trustees Of The Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme Ltd & Ors v the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc / John Greenwood & Ors v Frederick Goodwin & Ors
This £4bn fight brought by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shareholders over a 2008 £12bn rights issue has swelled to a battle involving four groups of investors lining up against the bank.
A group of claimants, which include pension scheme trustees, local authorities and investment funds, filed a High Court claim in March last year, alleging that the prospectus for RBS’s April 2008 rights issue was defective and contained “material mis-statements and omissions”.
They are also claiming the prospectus portrayed the bank as being in good financial health but the reality was different and the take-up of shares would have been limited “had the truth been known”.
Since Stewarts Law brought the first claim against the bank in 2013, the claims have swelled and the groups of claimants have grown from two to four.
Bird & Bird, Stewarts Law, Quinn Emanuel and Leon Kaye are now all representing groups of claimants. Stewarts Law’s group alone has expanded from 80 to 313 instutional investors and pension funds.
The case is one of the first to be brought under section 90 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and if it is fought all the way could set important case law.
The legal line-up
For claimants the 2Birds Action group
Serle Court’s Philip Marshall QC, 20 Essex Street’s Thomas Raphael, Luke Pearce instructed by Bird & Bird partner Steven Baker
For claimants the Stewarts Law group
3 Verulam Buildings’ Andrew Onslow QC, Adam Kramer instructed by Stewarts Law partners Clive Zietman, Keith Thomas and Fiona Gillett
For the Leon Kaye group
3 Verulam Buildings’ Michael Lazarus instructed by Leon Kaye partner Leon Kaye
For the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan group
Erskine Chambers’ Richard Snowden QC, Alex Barden instructed by Quinn Emanuel partner Sue Prevezer QC
For the defendants, RBS
7KBW Jonathan Gaisman QC, Serle Court’s David Blayney QC; Simon Hattan and Fountain Court’s James McClelland instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills partners Simon Clarke, Adam Johnson, Kirsten Massey
Barclays Bank Plc v Lester Charles Landgraf, Londell McMillan and Elias Farrah
The 2012 collapse of law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf was one of the most dramatic to hit the profession and this case concerning partner debts has been watched closely by the profession.
Barclays has been pursuing more than 100 of the firm’s former partners for repayment of loans it granted them before Dewey’s collapse. It has issued proceedings against 50 of those partners, including Lester Charles Landgraf and Londel McMillan.
Now three former Dewey & LeBoeuf partners have joined together against Barclays in an attempt to prove that the bank and defunct firm induced them to take on individual debts to keep Dewey afloat.
The legal line-up
For the claimant, Barclays Bank Plc
Fountain Court’s Guy Philipps QC and Adam Zellick instructed by TLT partner Richard Clayton
For the defendants Lester Charles Landgraf and Londell McMillan
4 Stone Buildings’ John Brisby QC and Alexander Cook instructed by Candey partner Andrew Dunn
For the defendant Elias Farrah
4 New Square’s Daniel Saoul, instructed by Signature Litigation partner Graham Huntley
Apex Global Management Ltd v FI Call Ltd, Global Torch Ltd, HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mishal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Emad Mahmoud Ahmed Abu-Ayshih and HRH Prince Mishal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
This case concerns two Saudi princes, allegations of money laundering for Hezbollah and a disputed signature.
HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mishal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has so far lost the fights to have his case against fellow investor Faisal Almhairat’s company Apex Global
Management heard in private and cited sovereign immunity to avoid complying with court orders (15 January 2014).
Now the prince has been given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The October battle will centre on whether the prince will have to comply with a series of orders made by Mr Justice Vos, Mr Justice Norris and Mr Justice Mann last year.
The prince has refused to sign a witness statement due to his royal status and failed to pay $7.7m to the other side, resulting in his defence being struck out last year.
He will fight the multiple orders on 13 October.
The legal line-up
For the appellant HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mishal Bin Abdulaziz al Saud
4 New Square’s Justin Fenwick QC and Daniel Saoul instructed by Mishcon de Reya partner Jarret Brown
For the respondent Apex Global Management & Anors
Serle Court’s Daniel Lightman instructed by Teacher Stern partner Jack Rabinowitz
Sabre Oil & Gas v Standard Bank Plc
This is a multimillion-pound claim arising out of the sale of an oil company investing in the Jubilee offshore oil field in Ghana.
The field was discovered in 2007 and commercial pumping began three years later.
PetroSA, South Africa’s national oil company, purchased Sabre Oil & Gas Holdings in 2012, giving the company a stake in the oil field. PetroSA also bought out Sabre’s interest in the Deepwater Tano and Ghana’s West Cape Three Points blocks.
The deal has proved contentious, with PetroSA hit with corruption allegations and put under investigation by the country’s anti-corruption police unit.
The case is listed for 3rd June 2015 for five weeks in the Commercial Court.
The legal line-up
For the claimant Sabre Oil & Gas
One Essex Court’s Laurence Rabinowitz QC instructed by King & Spalding partner Sarah Walker
For the defendant Standard Bank plc
Brick Court Chambers’ Mark Howard QC and Roger Masefield QC instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills partner Damien Byrne-Hillrt
AXA & Others v Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)
This case constitutes the first substantive challenge to the newly formed Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision regarding the UK’s private healthcare market.
The CMA decided the various players needed to divest assets to ensure fair competition.
It follows a two-year investigation by a group of independent panel members at the Competition Commission (CC), which became part of the new CMA.
Measures included a crackdown on benefits and incentive schemes provided to referring clinicians by private hospital operators and measures to increase the availability of information to patients on private fees and hospital performance.
The new regulator argued that many private hospitals faced little competition in local areas across the UK and there were high barriers to entry.
It concluded this led to higher prices for self-pay patients in many local areas – and for both self-pay and insured patients in Central London, where HCA, a for-profit operator of healthcare facilities that owns more than half of the available overnight bed capacity, charges significantly higher prices to insured patients than its closest competitor.
The case is listed for a two-week trial from 19th January.
The legal line-up
For the claimant AXA PPP Healthcare Limited.
Brick Court Chambers’ Kelyn Bacon QC and Ms Sarah Love instructed by Linklaters partner Simon Pritchard
For HCA International Ltd
Blackstone Chambers’ Dinah Rose QC, Jessica Boyd and Monckton Chambers’ Josh Holmes instructed by Nabarro partner Cyrus Mehta
For the Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations.
Blackstone Chambers’ Brian Kennelly and Emily Neill instructed by Watson Farley & Williams partner Emanuela Lecchi
For the Competition and Markets Authority
Monckton Chambers’ Kassie Smith QC, Rob Williams and Ligia Osepciu instructed by the Treasury Solicitor
For The London Clinic
Monckton Chambers’ Ronit Kreisberger instructed by Eversheds partner Stephen Rose
For the British Medical Association
Brick Court Chambers’ Aidan Robertson QC instructed by in-house lawyer Emma Mason-Fornazaric
For BUPA Insurance Limited
Monckton Chambers’ Tim Ward QC instructed by Slaughter and May partner Isabelle Taylor
For the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.
Monckton Chambers’ Anneli Howard instructed by Hogan Lovells partner Suyong Kim
On behalf of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co partner Bernardine Adkins