Kyla Shipping Co Ltd & Anor v Freight Trading Ltd & Ors [2022] EWHC 376 (Comm) (22 February 2022)

Kyla Shipping Co Ltd & Anor v Freight Trading Ltd & Ors [2022] EWHC 376 (Comm) (22 February 2022)

Litigation privilege does not apply to documents created during the 'ballast exercise' prior to the crystallisation of the mispricing claim, as litigation was not in reasonable prospect and the dominant purpose was not litigation. There was no waiver of privilege by the Claimants in the witness statement, as there was no reliance on the content of privileged documents, only general reference to steps taken.

Citation
[2022] EWHC 376 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: Kyla Shipping Co Ltd; Claimant: Vega Carriers Ltd; Defendant: Freight Trading Ltd; Defendant: C Transport Panamax Ltd; Defendant: C Transport Maritime S.A.M; Defendant: Luigi Cafiero
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
22 February 2022
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Application / Interlocutory Application Regarding Privilege and Waiver
Outcome
Application for waiver of privilege dismissed; Claimants required to reconsider and clarify litigation privilege claims.
Legal Topics
Litigation Privilege, Waiver of Privilege, Disclosure, Limitation of Actions
Civil Procedure Commercial Law Litigation Privilege Waiver of Privilege Disclosure Limitation of Actions

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 7 Authorities cited 21 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Kyla Shipping Co Ltd

Claimant

Vega Carriers Ltd

Claimant

Freight Trading Ltd

Defendant

C Transport Panamax Ltd

Defendant

C Transport Maritime S.A.M

Defendant

Luigi Cafiero

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Application / Interlocutory Application Regarding Privilege and Waiver

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether litigation privilege applies to documents created during the 'ballast exercise' prior to crystallisation of the mispricing claim
  2. 2 Whether there has been a waiver of privilege entitling disclosure of additional materials referred to in a witness statement

Ratio Decidendi

Litigation privilege does not apply to documents created during the 'ballast exercise' prior to the crystallisation of the mispricing claim, as litigation was not in reasonable prospect and the dominant purpose was not litigation. There was no waiver of privilege by the Claimants in the witness statement, as there was no reliance on the content of privileged documents, only general reference to steps taken.

Court Disposition

Application for waiver of privilege dismissed; Claimants required to reconsider and clarify litigation privilege claims.

Orders

  • Claimants to reconsider the claim for litigation privilege on the basis that privilege may not be claimed for the mismanagement dispute but may be claimed when litigation was in reasonable contemplation in respect of the mispricing claim.
  • Claimants to serve a further list of documents with a supporting witness statement within 7 days of judgment.