Dispute Resolution: Recent Matters

• Obtaining an injunction overnight against Landsbanki Islands hf on behalf of our client, an AIM-listed investment company. The injunction restrains Landsbanki from selling or disposing of securities belonging to our client valued in excess of £20m.
• Advising an international mining company on its dispute with another mining company over an area of land in Sierra Leone, estimated to be home to around £2 billion worth of iron ore.
• Advising an international mining company on a major ICSID arbitration claim against the Government of Sierra Leone for breach by the Government of its international treaty obligations under a Bilateral Investment Treaty between the UK and Sierra Leone governments.
• Achieving a High Court victory on behalf of the chairman of West Bromwich Albion Holdings Ltd. A group of shareholders sought to prevent the company from implementing a share consolidation plan by applying for an injunction. The injunction application was successfully defeated, and the consolidation plan will go ahead as scheduled.
• Acting for an Austrian bank against a well-known UK high street bank in relation to a claim for deceit/misrepresentation in relation to the British bank's invitation to our client to participate in a financing transaction for the Enron group.
• Obtaining an award in favour an Italian patent proprietor in a World Intellectual Property Organisation arbitration against a US licensee in respect of patent rights in a method of treating diabetic nephropathy, which has an estimated value of many billions of dollars over the life of the patent.
• Successfully defending Ellis Stockbrokers in a High Court claim brought by an investor alleging unauthorised trading on his account.
• Advising Carnegie Minerals and its Gambian subsidiary over the wrongful revocation of Carnegie's Mining Licence by the Government of the Gambia, the seizure of Carnegie's assets and the wrongful arrest and detention of Carnegie's General Manager.
• Acting for an investment company and its owner in connection with a High Court claim against a property redevelopment company over its right to be paid out a share of the profits on a redevelopment project.
• Acting for Evolve Capital plc in its successful hostile takeover of Blue Oar Plc, with regard to advanced claims based on regulatory misconduct and breach of fiduciary duty by the board of the target company.