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09 October 2018
Litigation British Virgin Islands
In Stanford v Akers the BVI Court of Appeal addressed standing in the context of applications under Section 273 of the Insolvency Act 2003, whereby an aggrieved person can ask the court to reverse or vary a liquidator's decision.
The liquidators of Chesterfield entered the company into a global settlement agreement with Deutsche Bank AG and Kaupthing, which included the admission of Kaupthing's claim in Chesterfield's liquidation.
Mr Stanford appealed the liquidators' decision to enter into the agreement on the basis that they should have settled with Deutsche Bank directly, without admitting Kaupthing's claim. Had they done so, Chesterfield would have retained the full benefit of the payment from Deutsche Bank (and from which Sanford would have benefited as an ultimate beneficiary of Chesterfield).
The trial judge dismissed the Section 273 application on the following grounds:
The BVI Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, agreeing with the trial judge on the following grounds:
Stanford also sought to obtain disclosure on appeal and simultaneously adduce it as fresh evidence under Ladd v Marshall principles. The application was dismissed on the following grounds:
For further information on this topic please contact Andrew Thorp at Harney Westwood & Riegels' Tortola office by telephone (+1 284 494 2233) or email (andrew.thorp@harneys.com). Alternatively, contact Vicky Lord or Laura De Heer at Harney Westwood & Riegels' Hong Kong office by telephone (+852 5806 7800) or email (vicky.lord@harneys.com or laura.deheer@harney.com). The Harneys website can be accessed at www.harneys.com
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