Samuel Cathro

Trusts, probate and estates

• Acting in a contested proposal to restructure offshore trusts worth approximately $1bn, led by Jonathan Hilliard KC;
• Acting in a contested offshore trusts dispute, led by Robert Ham KC and Michael Ashdown;
• Acting for Guernsey offshore purchasers of a trustee business, who allege breaches of warranties and restraint of trade provisions by the seller;
• Acting for executors who were the subject of removal proceedings, set down for a one-day hearing in the High Court (settled on the door of court).

Commercial disputes and Civil fraud 

• Acting for an investor in a tech startup, seeking repayment of the fair value of his equity stake in the business following breach of contract by the company;
• Acting for an individual on the English dimension of foreign proceedings which seek to recover stolen diamonds worth tens of millions of US dollars;
• Acting in a pair of cases in New York, both worth $100m, assisting Graeme Halkerston in giving expert advice on issues of Cayman law, including on issues of fraud/breach of fiduciary duty;
• Acting for a private client who seeks repayment of debts totalling over £30m;
• Acting for claimant owners of a valuable classic Jaguar, bringing claims against the defendant engineers who worked on the car prior to it suffering catastrophic engine failure at Silverstone;
• Advising and drafting in relation to a number of commercial disputes in the Bahamas, including claims relating to breach of an alcohol distribution agreement, a partnership agreement, and pre-incorporation contracts;
• Acting in an application for a freezing injunction against an individual who allegedly misappropriated sums from the claimant metals products manufacturer (and the companies, now in liquidation, of which he was a director), led by Graeme Halkerston; and
• Acting for a business bringing claims against its bank for breach of mandate, seeking repayment of sums misappropriated by thieves (led by Jonathan Chew).

Property

• Acting for an electricity distribution network operator, successfully applying for strike out of proceedings relating to ownership of land beneath a highway, and arguing a subsequent appeal;
• Acting in Ensign House v Ensign House (FEC) Limited, a development dispute about a property in Canary Wharf which culminated in a month-long trial in the Chancery division in November 2022 (assisting a team from Wilberforce Chambers led by Jonathan Seitler KC);
• Acting in Adjoin Ltd v Fortytwo House SarL [2022] EWHC 2710 (Ch), a rights to light dispute relating to a new development in the City, led by John McGhee KC and Harriet Holmes;
• Acting for the claimant leaseholder in proceedings involving nuisance and trespass claims relating to water ingress caused by the defendant freeholder’s works;
• Acting for landlords in proceedings in the Upper Tribunal in a claim by tenants for repayment of rent;
• Acting in a contractual leasehold dispute concerning responsibility for improvement works and issues of contractual interpretation;
• Possession proceedings (on behalf of both claimants and defendants), including advising on complex issues that arise in atypical leasing arrangements; and
• In a matter in the Business and Property Counts, seeking to protect the rights of a leaseholder whose investment in the subject property was being threatened by applications made by a liquidator, led by Zoë Barton KC.

Insolvency

• Appearing in bankruptcy applications and winding up petitions on behalf of both creditors and debtors;
• Advising, and appearing on behalf of, both applicants and defendants in injunctions to restrain winding up petitions;
• Appearing on behalf of directors of a company seeking permission to trade under a prohibited name; and
• Acting for claimants who seek repayment of sums misappropriated by directors of the defendant companies (now in liquidation) as part of a tax avoidance scheme, led by Lexa Hilliard KC.