Counsel

Commercial

Stuart has experience of all types of banking and financial disputes, civil fraud cases, commercial contracts, corporate disputes, competition matters, disputes in the energy and natural resources sectors, insurance and reinsurance, professional negligence and insolvency. A particular interest lies in jurisdictional and private international law issues and enforcement issues including freezing orders and anti-suit injunctions.
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Disputes over lending, securities, letters of credit and bills of exchange; civil fraud claims, particularly those involving Eastern European and Indian parties; joint venture and shareholder disputes, competition matters; oil and gas disputes and disputes in the mining sector, particularly involving coal and shale and precious metals and gemstones; coverage and avoidance issues in the marine and non-marine insurance and reinsurance sectors; shipbuilding, charterparties and bills of lading, and accountants’, solicitors’ and brokers’ negligence have all been part of his work.
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He has also been involved in several commercial judicial review cases mainly involving regulatory issues.
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His cases have arisen not only in London and Singapore, but in other jurisdictions, notably Bermuda, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mauritius and in the Caribbean .
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Stuart has appeared in over 20 cases in the Court of Justice of the European Union and General Court in Luxembourg, as well as many cases in the English domestic courts involving European law issues. His landmark cases include those relating to the issue of Sunday trading, the ban on the export of British beef following the BSE crisis some years ago and the imposition of sanctions on Serbia.
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He has access to an experienced team of competition law economists and other experts.

• Elandia Holdings Ltd v Cortefill Invest Ltd concerning a Part 8 claim seeking the proper interpretation of a shareholders’ agreement governed by English law in respect of a joint venture company which is the subject of winding-up petition in Cyprus.
• State Trading Corporation v Betamax Ltd [2019] SCJ 154, in which the Supreme Court of Mauritius set aside a SIAC arbitration award on grounds of breach of domestic public policy. The case is currently pending before the Privy Council.
• Catalyst Management Services v Libya African Investment Portfolio [2018] EWCA Civ 1676. [2017] EWHC 1236 (Comm) relating to the successful defence of a US$1.5 billion claim for commission and the use of an after the event insurance policy as security for costs.
• Stati and others v Republic of Kazakhstan (2018) concerning whether allegations that a foreign arbitration award had been obtained by fraud, raised on an application to set aside an order permitting enforcement in England, amounted to an independent claim that survived the service of a notice discontinuing the enforcement proceedings.
• Elena Baturina v Alexander Chistyakov [2017] EWHC 1049 (Comm) relating to the successful defence of a Russian investor against claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud relating to a joint property development with the claimant in Morocco.
• Re New Generation Ideas Ltd, which concerned a winding up petition issued in the Cayman Islands in the context of a family dispute between members of a Middle Eastern royal family.
• Crociani v Crociani [2017] JRC 146 concerning a series of breach of trust claims brought in the Jersey courts against the trustees and former trustees of two related family trusts.
• JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshkenniy Bank and State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency v Sergei Pugachev [2016] EWHC 192 (Ch) concerning contempt of court proceedings for breach of freezing orders.
• Wall v Royal Bank of Scotland (2016), in which the claimant brought claims worth £700m against the bank arising from its former dealings with a property group in insolvent liquidation.
• Monde Petroleum SA v Westernzagros Ltd [2015] EWHC 67 (Comm) concerning whether an arbitration clause in a consultancy services agreement was superseded by a jurisdiction clause in a subsequent settlement agreement.
• Boustead Singapore Ltd v Arab Banking Corporation [2016] 3 SLR 557, [2015] 3 SLR 38, in which the Singapore courts granted a permanent injunction to restrain payment by the bank under its counter-guarantees in application of the fraud exception and the unconscionability doctrine applicable in Singapore. Stuart gave expert evidence on behalf of the successful party.

Expert Witness

Stuart has given expert evidence on English commercial law issues in courts and arbitration tribunals in a number of overseas jurisdictions. These have included courts and tribunals in New York, Singapore, Italy and Israel, in the form of both written opinions and oral evidence.

“His advocacy is always impeccable. He is calm, and judges and tribunals give huge weight to his submissions. A silk with authority and gravitas.”

“He possesses a fine legal mind and is articulate, persuasive and extraordinarily efficient.”

“Stuart is a very thorough and clever counsel. His cross examination is excellent and he presents key aspects of complex cases with great clarity.”