Commercial disputes, Civil fraud and asset recovery, Company lawWednesday 29 May 2024
On Friday 24 May 2024, judgment was handed down by Foxton J in Gordiy v Dorofejeva & another [2024] EWHC 1273 (Comm).
The Claimant advanced fraud claims in deceit, the tort of causing loss by unlawful means and unlawful means conspiracy arising out of the failure of a share purchase agreement. The judgment addresses the Second Defendant’s challenge to jurisdiction on the basis that the claims did not satisfy the merits threshold that the Claimant had to show a real prospect of success on the claim. Having considered the contemporaneous documentation, the judge found that the Claimant had no real prospect of establishing the factual allegations that underlay her claims. Permission to serve out of the jurisdiction was therefore refused. The case shows that, in appropriate circumstances, a court will find that a claim has no real prospect of success even where allegations of fraud are made.
Tim Matthewson successfully acted for the Second Defendant, instructed by Alston & Bird (City) LLP.
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