Injunctions
Members of Chambers have extensive experience of obtaining and resisting injunctions, both in substantive disputes and to restrain foreign proceedings. Their experience in this type of work reaches across all areas of commercial law, from civil fraud, where they are frequently involved in obtaining freezing and proprietary injunctions, to shipping, where they are accustomed to working with foreign lawyers to procure the arrest of vessels and other maritime property abroad, as well as securing vessels’ release from arrest.
Members, at both silk and junior level, are particularly skilled in seeking and obtaining urgent interim injunctions, frequently on a ‘without notice’ basis, and providing related advice. The need for an anti-suit injunction will typically arise in cases involving complex conflict of laws / jurisdiction issues, and members are experienced in working as part of an international legal team to make such applications in parallel with applications to stay proceedings abroad.
Examples of types of injunctions frequently obtained include:
- Anti-suit injunctions
- Freezing injunctions (domestic and worldwide)
- Proprietary injunctions
- Other interim injunctions (mandatory and prohibitory)
Leading cases
Examples of recent or high profile cases in which Members of Chambers have been involved are:
- Enka Insaat vs Sanayi A.S. v. OOO Insurance Company Chubb [2020] 1 W.L.R. 4117 (S.C.) concerning the availability of anti-suit injunctions in aid of arbitration, described by The Lawyer as “a landmark judgment that is likely to become the leading authority in this area”
- Harcus Sinclair LLP v Your lawyers Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 335
- Lakatamia v Nobu Su [2020] 1 W.L.R. 2852, [2020] 2 All E.R. (Comm) 359 (C.A.), [2015] 1 W.L.R. 291 (freezing injunctions, search orders, contempt of court)
- HSBC Bank PLC v Pearl Corp [2019] EWCH 231 (Comm)
- Impala Warehousing and Logistics (Shanghai) Co Ltd v Wanxiang Resources (Singapore) Pte Ltd. [2015] EWHC 811 (Comm) (anti-suit injunction preventing the defendant from pursuing proceedings in the Shanghai).
- Republic of Djibouti v. Boreh [2015] EWHC 769 (Comm) (application to set aside a freezing injunction and proprietary injunction)
- Orb a.r.l and Ors v Andrew Joseph Ruhan [2015] EWHC 830 (Comm)
- Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance Ltd [2014] Lloyd’s Rep. IR 195
- Blue Holdings v United States of America [2014] EWCA Civ 1291
- PJSC Vseukrainskyi Aktsionernyi Bank v Sergey Maksimov [2013] EWHC 422 (Comm)
- Jewel Owner Ltd v Sagaan Developments Trading Ltd. [2012] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 672
- Oceanconnect UK Ltd & Anor. v Angara Maritime Ltd [2011] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 399.
- The “Front Comor” [2008] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 661 – seminal case on the effect of the Brussels Convention on the jurisdiction of the English courts to grant anti-suit injunctions