A v B

A v B

The defendants, as a group, owed a fiduciary duty of loyalty to the claimant arising from their engagement to provide expert services in the Works Package Arbitration. By accepting instructions to act for a third party in the related EPCM Arbitration, where the interests of the claimant and third party were adverse and the issues overlapped, the defendants placed themselves in a position of conflict and breached their duty of loyalty. The court found that the duty of loyalty extended to the defendant group as a whole, not just the individual or entity directly engaged. The court exercised its discretion to continue the injunction, finding the claimant likely to succeed at trial and the...

Parties
Claimant: A Company; First Defendant: X; Second Defendant: Y; Third Defendant: Z
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
03 April 2020
Procedural Posture
Injunction Application (interim Relief) / Hearing for Continuation of Interim Injunction
Outcome
Interim injunction continued pending trial
Legal Topics
Fiduciary Duty, Conflict of Interest, Expert Witnesses, Confidentiality, Jurisdiction
Civil Procedure Arbitration Professional Ethics Fiduciary Duty Conflict of Interest Expert Witnesses Confidentiality Jurisdiction

Case Brief

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Parties

A Company

Claimant

X

First Defendant

Y

Second Defendant

Z

Third Defendant

Procedural Posture

Injunction Application (interim Relief) / Hearing for Continuation of Interim Injunction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court has jurisdiction to determine the application and exercise it
  2. 2 Whether independent experts can owe a fiduciary duty of loyalty to their clients
  3. 3 Whether the defendants owed and breached a fiduciary duty of loyalty to the claimant

Ratio Decidendi

The defendants, as a group, owed a fiduciary duty of loyalty to the claimant arising from their engagement to provide expert services in the Works Package Arbitration. By accepting instructions to act for a third party in the related EPCM Arbitration, where the interests of the claimant and third party were adverse and the issues overlapped, the defendants placed themselves in a position of conflict and breached their duty of loyalty. The court found that the duty of loyalty extended to the defendant group as a whole, not just the individual or entity directly engaged. The court exercised its discretion to continue the injunction, finding the claimant likely to succeed at trial and the...

Court Disposition

Interim injunction continued pending trial

Orders

  • The defendants are restrained from providing expert services to the third party in connection with the EPCM Arbitration pending trial.