Lavinia Deborah Osbourne v Persons Unknown & Anor

NFTs are arguably property under English law and located in England by claimant's domicile; assets stolen are impressed with a constructive trust; freezing injunction and Bankers Trust disclosure order are appropriate to preserve assets and trace perpetrators; service out of jurisdiction is justified under Practice Direction 6B gateways.

Parties: Applicant: Lavinia Deborah Osbourne; Respondent: Persons Unknown; Respondent: Ozone Networks Incorporated
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
Judgment Date: 10 March 2022
Procedural Posture: Commercial Court Application / Without Notice Application for Interim Relief
Outcome: Application granted
Legal Topics: Nfts as Property, Constructive Trust, Bankers Trust Order, Service Out of Jurisdiction, Crypto Asset Tracing

Civil Procedure Trusts and Equity Fraud Information Disclosure Nfts as Property Constructive Trust Bankers Trust Order Service Out of Jurisdiction +1 more

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Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 6 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1

Parties

Lavinia Deborah Osbourne

Applicant

Persons Unknown

Respondent

Ozone Networks Incorporated

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Application / Without Notice Application for Interim Relief

Legal Issues

1 Whether NFTs constitute property under English law
2 Whether a constructive trust arises over stolen NFTs
3 Appropriateness of freezing injunction against persons unknown

Ratio Decidendi

Court Disposition

Application granted

Orders

Freezing injunction granted against persons unknown restraining dissipation of NFTs.
Permission to serve proceedings against persons unknown out of jurisdiction.