Lakatamia Shipping Company Ltd & Ors v Su (aka Su Hsin Chi; aka Nobu Moritomo) & Ors

Lakatamia Shipping Company Ltd & Ors v Su (aka Su Hsin Chi; aka Nobu Moritomo) & Ors

The court refused to release Mr Su early from prison as the punitive and coercive purposes of the sentence had not been met, there was no genuine contrition, and no exceptional COVID-19 factors justified early release. The injunction was continued, and the return date adjourned to allow fair opportunity for Mr Su to respond. The third committal application was not listed before Mr Su's release as it would be unfair and impractical, and alternative measures existed to manage flight risk.

Parties
Claimant: Lakatamia Shipping Company Limited; Claimant: Slagen Shipping Co Ltd; Claimant: Kition Shipping Co Ltd; Claimant: Polys Haji-Ionnaou; Defendant: Nobu Su (aka Su Hsin Chi; aka Nobu Moritomo); Defendant: TMT Co Limited; Defendant: TMT Asia Limited; Defendant: Taiwan Maritime Transportation Co Ltd; Defendant: TMT Company Limited Panama SA; Defendant: TMT Co Limited Liberia; Defendant: Iron Monger I Co Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
03 April 2020
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Proceedings (contempt, Injunction, Committal) / Ruling on Three Interlocutory Applications: Injunction, Purge of Contempt, Listing of Committal Application
Outcome
Applications determined as follows: Injunction continued and return date adjourned; Purge application refused; Listing application refused for expedited hearing before release.
Legal Topics
Committal for Contempt, Injunctions, Asset Disclosure, Flight Risk, COVID 19 Court Procedure
Civil Procedure Commercial Law Contempt of Court Committal for Contempt Injunctions Asset Disclosure Flight Risk COVID 19 Court Procedure

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Parties

Lakatamia Shipping Company Limited

Claimant

Slagen Shipping Co Ltd

Claimant

Kition Shipping Co Ltd

Claimant

Polys Haji-Ionnaou

Claimant

Nobu Su (aka Su Hsin Chi; aka Nobu Moritomo)

Defendant

TMT Co Limited

Defendant

TMT Asia Limited

Defendant

Taiwan Maritime Transportation Co Ltd

Defendant

TMT Company Limited Panama SA

Defendant

TMT Co Limited Liberia

Defendant

Iron Monger I Co Ltd

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Proceedings (contempt, Injunction, Committal) / Ruling on Three Interlocutory Applications: Injunction, Purge of Contempt, Listing of Committal Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether to continue the injunction requiring disclosure of social media and email accounts and access provision
  2. 2 Whether Mr Su should be released early from prison by purging his contempt
  3. 3 Whether the third committal application should be listed and heard before Mr Su's release from prison

Ratio Decidendi

The court refused to release Mr Su early from prison as the punitive and coercive purposes of the sentence had not been met, there was no genuine contrition, and no exceptional COVID-19 factors justified early release. The injunction was continued, and the return date adjourned to allow fair opportunity for Mr Su to respond. The third committal application was not listed before Mr Su's release as it would be unfair and impractical, and alternative measures existed to manage flight risk.

Court Disposition

Applications determined as follows: Injunction continued and return date adjourned; Purge application refused; Listing application refused for expedited hearing before release.

Orders

  • Existing injunction continued; return date adjourned to earliest possible date next week.
  • Mr Su's application to purge contempt and obtain early release refused.