Theo Dixon

Theo’s Expertise

As a pupil, Theo gained experience across all of Chambers’ key practice areas. His pupil supervisors were James McCreath, Tom Roscoe, Jack Watson, James Goodwin, Tim Matthewson and Joseph Steadman.

Examples of work undertaken as a pupil include:

Commercial

• Assisting Jack Watson in Richards v Bodden [2023] UKPC 7, a case heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council concerning a claim for restitution/unjust enrichment arising out of the failure of an instalment contract.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim in a professional negligence claim relating to a multimillion-pound property development. The claim concerned the negligent drafting of equalisation provisions in a cooperation agreement entered into by the owners of the development site.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for a breach of warranty claim arising from the purchase of a medical devices company, worth c.£10 million.

Civil Fraud

• Assisting Tim Matthewson in The Public Institution for Social Security v Al Rajaan; a US$874 million corruption claim brought by the body operating the State of Kuwait’s social security system and pension scheme in respect of alleged secret commissions paid over a 20-year period.
• Assisting James Bailey KC and James Goodwin in various applications, including an application for a passport order, arising from the wide-ranging commercial fraud proceedings in Lim and others v Ong and others.
• Assisting with the preparation of a Norwich Pharmacal application to obtain disclosure against various banks in aid of the recovery of misappropriated funds.

Trusts

• Preparing advice for the trustees of a BVI trust on issues of limitation. The case concerned proprietary claims arising from the transfer of shares between companies within a complex offshore structure.
• Preparing advice for two trustees of a family trust concerning problems with the management of the trust and options for removing the third trustee pending the outcome of parallel divorce proceedings.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for the recovery of a Jersey trustee’s costs from the trust which were incurred in previous litigation. The claim relied on the trustee’s contractual and legal right of indemnity.

Insolvency

• Drafting a position paper for the joint liquidators of a Lehman Brothers entity, concerning the priority of payments of interest payable on subordinated debt instruments. The application arose as a consequence of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Lehman Brothers Holdings Scottish LP 3 v Lehman Brothers Holdings Plc (In Administration) [2021] EWCA Civ 1523.
• Preparing advice on the merits of a s.423 Insolvency Act 1986 claim relating to the transfer of shares at an undervalue, including advice as to the recoverability of dividends subsequently paid to the transferee of the shares.
• Preparing advice for a trustee in bankruptcy on the effect of Income Payments Orders and After-Acquired Property Notices obtained in a previous bankruptcy of the same individual.

Property

• Assisting James McCreath in the ongoing litigation between United Utilities and the Manchester Ship Canal Company, which recently appeared before the Supreme Court in March 2023. The appeal concerned the implied ouster of MSCC’s private law claims by the Water Industry Act 1991.
• Drafting Particulars of Claim for the specific performance of an agreement relating to the sale of various commercial properties worth £230 million.
• Drafting advice on whether an option to purchase a Bahamian property was validly exercised. The lessee had purported to exercise the option, which was granted in the same document as the lease, after the lease had been forfeited.

Pensions

• Drafting advice for the employer concerning the validity of historic amendments to the scheme which introduced guaranteed minimum increases to pensions in payment.
• Preparing advice for trustees in relation to the rectification of a scheme to remove a final salary link.
• Preparing advice for two trustees of a SSAS on steps which could be taken to remove the scheme’s third trustee and separate the beneficiaries’ interests.