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England and Wales High Court (Commercial Court) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Commercial Court) Decisions >> Abbotswood Shipping Corporation v Air Pacific Ltd (Rev 1) [2019] EWHC 1641 (Comm) (28 June 2019) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2019/1641.html Cite as: [2019] EWHC 1641 (Comm) |
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BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
COMMERCIAL COURT
Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL |
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B e f o r e :
Sitting as a Judge of the High Court
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ABBOTSWOOD SHIPPING CORPORATION | ||
(a company incorporated under the laws of Liberia) | Claimant | |
and | ||
AIR PACIFIC LIMITED | ||
(a company incorporated under the laws of Fiji and trading as Fiji Airways) | Defendant |
____________________
Steven Thompson QC (instructed by Bird & Bird LLP) appeared on behalf of the Defendant
Hearing date: Friday, 21 June 2019
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Crown Copyright ©
See also: Appendix
ADRIAN BELTRAMI QC:
Background
"a. That, pursuant to Sections 1 and 8 of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 and/or the term of the relevant contracts the Claimant may in its own right enforce the terms of the two aircraft lease agreements dated 2 December 2002 [… as subsequently amended…]
b. That the terms of the Leases which the Claimant is entitled to enforce in its own right include Clauses 7, 17.1, 21, 26.2.2 and 26.3.1.
c. Consequent on the declarations under a. and b. above as to the accounting position between the Claimant and Defendant and as to what sums, if any, are due from the Claimant to the Defendant."
"In the premises set out in paragraphs 36 to 52 above Events of Default had occurred as set out above which entitled the Lessor and the Claimant pursuant to Clause 7.2.1 to set-off or apply all or part of the Security Deposit in or towards the payment or discharge of any matured obligation owed by the Lessee, namely the obligation to compensate the Lessor and the Claimant for the reduced value of Engine P727381CN. The reduction in value of Engine P727381CN was a loss, damage or injury arising directly or indirectly out of redelivery of the Aircraft within Clause 17.1 of the Lease which entitled the Claimant to claim indemnity from the Defendant."
a. A claim for damages against the Claimant for inducing a breach of contract on the part of the Lessors, the relevant breach being the failure to return the security deposits.
b. A claim in unjust enrichment.
c. A claim for the return of the monies represented by the security deposits pursuant to sections 423-425 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
The application for security
"The court may make an order for security for costs under rule 25.12 if:(a) it is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, that it is just to make such an order; and
(b) (i) one or more of the conditions in paragraph (2) applies…"
"(a) the claimant is:(i) resident out of the jurisdiction; but
(ii) not resident in a Brussels Contracting State, a State bound by the Lugano Convention, a State bound by the 2005 Hague Convention or a Regulation State as defined in section 1(3) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982…
(c) the claimant is a company or other body (whether incorporated inside or outside Great Britain) and there is reason to believe that it will be unable to pay the defendant's costs if ordered to do so;"
"(a) As a threshold requirement, the Defendants must establish that there is reason to believe that the Claimants will be unable to meet any costs order: see CPR Part 25.13(2)(c). Thus, it is not enough for the Defendants to show that the Claimants might not be able to repay. More must be done, namely justification for a reason to believe that the Claimants will not be able to pay. In that regard:(i). The Defendants do not need to demonstrate on a balance of probabilities that the Claimants will not be able to satisfy any costs order: see Jirehouse v Beller [2009] 1 WLR 751 at [26]. However, there must be evidence that the company "will be unable to pay", which is more than mere doubt or concern about the future ability to pay: see Re Unisoft Group Limited [1993] BCLC 532 per Sir Donald Nicholls VC at 534e-i, as followed by Jirehouse at [24]. As stated by Sir Donald Nicholls VC in Unisoft, the test is not "watered down" by the presence of the wording "reason to believe".
(ii) Similarly, in Texuna International Limited v Cairn Energy plc [2004] EWHC 1102 Gross J stated at [10]: "I emphasise that the inquiry is whether the Claimant "will be unable" to pay the Defendant's costs if ordered to do so – not whether it might be unable to pay them."
(iii)The burden is upon the Defendants. It is not incumbent upon the Claimants to prove that they have the means to pay: see Golden Grove Estates v Chancerygate Asset Management [2007] EWHC 968 per Lindsay J at [35].
(iv) However, if legitimate concerns about the Claimants financial position are raised, if the Claimants choose to provide no or incomplete information in response, that in itself can lead to a court reaching the belief that the Claimants are unable to pay. In Mbasago v Logo Limited [2006] EWCA Civ 608, Lord Justice Auld stated (at paragraph12) that "where it arises as a result of the party against whom the order is sought either providing unsatisfactory financial information as to his or its affairs, or as in this case none at all, it is not a big step for the court to take to conclude that there is reason for such belief".
"Mr Nolan may be right to say that CPR Part 1.3 does not require a respondent voluntarily to fill gaps in an applicant's evidence in order to assist an applicant to discharge a burden of proof. But even if deliberate reticence on the part of a respondent is not a breach of CPR Part 1.3 a court can and should take account of deliberate reticence as part of the overall picture. Any evaluation has to be made on the totality of the evidence before the court; part of that totality is the absence of relevant evidence from the only party who is able to provide it. If, therefore, there were to be a practice of the Commercial Court (as to which we cannot express a view from our own experience) that security for costs will often be granted against a foreign company who is not obliged to publish accounts, has no discernible assets and declines to reveal anything about its financial position, our view is that the practice is a sound one and, as Lewison LJ noted, it is an important point of practice which should either be upheld or rejected at appellate level. We would uphold it."
a. That the Claimant brought these proceedings which seek, amongst other matters, an account of what might be due from the Claimant to the Defendant.
b. That the Claimant paid the "surplus" balance.
c. That there is no suggestion that the Claimant failed to pay any sums that might have been due under the leases.
d. That the Claimant has not sought to resist the application on the ground that an order would stifle the claim.
"… the question whether any order should be made is a discretionary question… to be exercised in the interests of justice having regard to the peculiar features of the case before the court. It cannot be too firmly emphasised that there can be no rule of thumb as to the grant or refusal of an order for security …"
"It is, however, necessary, as I think, to consider what the effect of an order for security in this case would be if security were not given. It would have the effect, as the defendants acknowledge, of preventing the plaintiffs pursuing their claim. It would, however, leave the defendants free to pursue their counterclaim. The plaintiffs could then defend themselves against the counterclaim although their own claim was stayed. It seems quite clear – and, indeed, was not I think in controversy – that in the course of defending the counterclaim all the same matters would be canvassed as would be canvassed if the plaintiffs were to pursue their claim, but on that basis they would defend the claim and advance their own in a somewhat hobbled manner, and would be conducting the litigation (to change the metaphor) with one hand tied behind their back. I have to say that that does not appeal to me on the facts of this case as a just or attractive way to oblige a party to conduct its litigation.Mr Phillips for the defendants submits there would really be no problem because, if the defendants failed in their counterclaim and the plaintiffs' case contrary to the counterclaim effectively succeeded, then the stay could be lifted and the plaintiffs could be given judgment. But on that assumption one is bound to ask what would be the point of making the order at all except to give the defendants a tactical advantage in the litigation.
One comes back, I think, at the end of the day to the reflection that this is a rule intended to give a measure of protection to a defendant who is put to the cost of defending himself against a claim made by an impecunious corporate plaintiff. It may in some cases be fair and just to make such an order even though the defendant is himself counterclaiming, but I am persuaded that it would be wrong to do so here because the costs that these defendants are incurring to defend themselves may equally, and perhaps preferably, be regarded as costs necessary to prosecute their counterclaim … The fact that the plaintiffs are plaintiffs and the defendants are counterclaiming defendants instead of the other way round appears on the facts here to be very largely a matter of chance."
"As a general rule, the Court will not exercise its discretion under CPR Part 25 to make an order for security of the costs of a claim if the same issues arise on the claim and counterclaim and the costs incurred in defending that claim would also be incurred in prosecuting the counterclaim — see BJ Crabtree v GPT Communication Systems (1990) 59 BLR 43 ("the Crabtree principle")."
""If the claim and counterclaim raise the same issues it may well be a matter of chance which party is the claimant and which a counterclaiming defendant and in such a case it will not usually be just to make an order for security for costs in favour of the defendant, although the court must always have regard to the particular circumstances of the case."
a. The question is one of substance, not form. Mr Shah sought to impress upon me the number of times he had referred back to the Particulars of Claim in his pleaded Reply to the Defence. I must look to see what issues are actually raised, rather than the words used by the draftsman.
b. The exercise must, however, be a fairly rough and ready one, which reflects the broad thrust of the claim and counterclaim. That is certainly so on an application, such as this, given a 1 hour time estimate in a CMC. In any event, I was not addressed at any level of detail on the pleadings.
c. The nature of the enquiry needs to be defined with care. There are several elements of the counterclaim (attached to the causes of action in tort, unjust enrichment and for statutory relief) which go beyond anything contained in the claim. On this basis, Mr Thompson submitted that the counterclaim had an "independent vitality" which was distinct from the claim. Whether such a metaphor is helpful in other cases, I do not find it of assistance here. The fact that the counterclaim raises matters which are not part of the claim might or might not have been relevant had an application for security been made against the Defendant. The focus of my enquiry, however, is on whether the issues which are raised on the claim may properly be said to overlap with the issues on the counterclaim (even if there are other issues on the counterclaim which are "independently vital").
Determination