Boreh v Republic of Djibouti & Ors

Boreh v Republic of Djibouti & Ors

Mr Gray, acting for Djibouti, deliberately misled the court at the September 2013 hearing by failing to disclose the misdating of telephone transcripts and the unreliability of the conviction used to support the freezing injunction. This conduct breached the duty not to mislead the court and was dishonest. Djibouti, through its representatives, did not come to equity with clean hands. The deliberate misleading was material to the exercise of the court's discretion in granting the freezing injunction. Accordingly, the freezing injunction and ancillary relief must be set aside; however, the proprietary injunction over shares in HDHL is preserved as it protects arguable property rights and...

Parties
Applicant/first Defendant: Abdourahman Mohamed Mahmoud Boreh; Respondent/claimant: Republic of Djibouti; Respondent/claimant: Autorite des Ports et des Zones Franches de Djibouti; Respondent/claimant: Port Autonome International de Djibouti; Additional Respondent: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
23 March 2015
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Application / Ruling on Application to Set Aside Freezing Injunction
Outcome
Application granted in part; freezing injunction and ancillary relief set aside, proprietary injunction maintained.
Legal Topics
Freezing Injunctions, Duty Not to Mislead Court, Clean Hands Doctrine, Professional Misconduct, Disclosure Obligations
Civil Procedure Equity Professional Conduct Freezing Injunctions Duty Not to Mislead Court Clean Hands Doctrine Professional Misconduct Disclosure Obligations

Case Brief

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Parties

Abdourahman Mohamed Mahmoud Boreh

Applicant/first Defendant

Republic of Djibouti

Respondent/claimant

Autorite des Ports et des Zones Franches de Djibouti

Respondent/claimant

Port Autonome International de Djibouti

Respondent/claimant

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Additional Respondent

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Application / Ruling on Application to Set Aside Freezing Injunction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Mr Gray deliberately misled the court at the September 2013 hearing
  2. 2 Whether the freezing injunction and proprietary injunction should be set aside
  3. 3 Whether Djibouti and its legal representatives acted with clean hands

Ratio Decidendi

Mr Gray, acting for Djibouti, deliberately misled the court at the September 2013 hearing by failing to disclose the misdating of telephone transcripts and the unreliability of the conviction used to support the freezing injunction. This conduct breached the duty not to mislead the court and was dishonest. Djibouti, through its representatives, did not come to equity with clean hands. The deliberate misleading was material to the exercise of the court's discretion in granting the freezing injunction. Accordingly, the freezing injunction and ancillary relief must be set aside; however, the proprietary injunction over shares in HDHL is preserved as it protects arguable property rights and...

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; freezing injunction and ancillary relief set aside, proprietary injunction maintained.

Orders

  • Freezing injunction and ancillary relief discharged.
  • Proprietary injunction over shares in HDHL maintained.