Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Pjsc v Shetty & Ors [2022] EWHC 529 (Comm) (01 April 2022)

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Pjsc v Shetty & Ors [2022] EWHC 529 (Comm) (01 April 2022)

The court held that ADCB had established a serious issue to be tried against the defendants, including the first defendant as anchor for the necessary or proper party gateway. The applicability of s.6 of the Statute of Frauds (Amendment) Act 1828 to the pleaded implied representations could not be determined at this...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2022] EWHC 529 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC; First Defendant: Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty; Second Defendant: Khaleefa Butti Omair Yousif Almuahiri; Third Defendant: Saeed Mohamed Butti Mohamed Alqebaisi; Fourth Defendant: Prasanth Manghat; Fifth Defendant: Suresh Kumar Vadakka Kootala; Sixth Defendant: Prashanth Shenoy
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
01 April 2022
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Proceedings (fraud, Conspiracy, Jurisdiction) / Interlocutory Applications: Continuation of Worldwide Freezing Order, Amendment of Particulars of Claim, Jurisdictional Challenge
Outcome
Permission to serve out of the jurisdiction set aside; Worldwide Freezing Order discharged; applications to amend Particulars of Claim and rely on additional gateway refused as academic.
Legal Topics
Jurisdiction, Worldwide Freezing Order, Fraudulent Misrepresentation, Unlawful Means Conspiracy, Governing Law (rome Ii), Service Out of Jurisdiction, Forum Conveniens, Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Commercial Law Civil Procedure Private International Law Fraud Jurisdiction Worldwide Freezing Order Fraudulent Misrepresentation Unlawful Means Conspiracy +4 more

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Parties

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC

Claimant

Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty

First Defendant

Khaleefa Butti Omair Yousif Almuahiri

Second Defendant

Saeed Mohamed Butti Mohamed Alqebaisi

Third Defendant

Prasanth Manghat

Fourth Defendant

Suresh Kumar Vadakka Kootala

Fifth Defendant

Prashanth Shenoy

Sixth Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Proceedings (fraud, Conspiracy, Jurisdiction) / Interlocutory Applications: Continuation of Worldwide Freezing Order, Amendment of Particulars of Claim, Jurisdictional Challenge

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the English court has jurisdiction over the defendants under the necessary or proper party gateway and/or tort gateway in PD6B
  2. 2 Whether there is a serious issue to be tried on the merits against each defendant
  3. 3 Whether the Worldwide Freezing Order should be continued

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that ADCB had established a serious issue to be tried against the defendants, including the first defendant as anchor for the necessary or proper party gateway. The applicability of s.6 of the Statute of Frauds (Amendment) Act 1828 to the pleaded implied representations could not be determined at this interlocutory stage and did not bar the claims. The court found that the claims were sufficiently pleaded under both English and UAE law for jurisdictional purposes. However, the court concluded that England was not the clearly and distinctly appropriate forum for the dispute, given the UAE-centric facts, and set aside permission to serve out of the jurisdiction and discharged...

Court Disposition

Permission to serve out of the jurisdiction set aside; Worldwide Freezing Order discharged; applications to amend Particulars of Claim and rely on additional gateway refused as academic.

Orders

  • Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction on the first to fourth defendants set aside.
  • Worldwide Freezing Order discharged.