Firm News
Vicky Biggs, in the commercial litigation team at Myerson Solicitors, has recently been successful in an Application in the King's Bench Division related to the registration and enforcement of Singaporean Judgments in England.
The issue which had to be considered by the Court was whether our client was entitled to register in England two Judgments made in their favour following a six-day commercial fraud trial in the Singaporean High Court. The Singaporean Judgments totalled US$1,028,455 and US$413,199.58 plus interest.
At the hearing last week, the Judgment Debtor argued that the Singaporean Court had no jurisdiction to determine the original proceedings, that the Judgments had been obtained by fraud and that the registration of the Singaporean Judgments in England was contrary to public policy.
The dispute resolution case involved difficult questions about the level of evidence needed before the Court would list any issue in contested registration proceedings for trial. In other words, whether any of the Judgment Debtor's arguments had a real prospect of success and needed to be resolved at trial.
After written and oral submissions, the Court declined to list any of the issues for trial and dismissed the Judgment Debtor's Application to set aside registration. Therefore, the Singaporean Judgments remain registered and enforceable in England. In addition, the Court ordered the Judgment Debtor to pay 100% of our client's costs relating to the Application. The Court's decision is unusual because the Court normally only awards approximately 70% of the costs incurred by a successful party.
Myerson instructed Tom Fairclough of 2 Temple Gardens in London to assist with the matter, and he represented our client at last week's hearing.
This case demonstrates the depth of experience in Myerson's commercial litigation team when it comes to complex litigation involving foreign jurisdictions, and it highlights another success by the team on behalf of a client.
The feedback Myerson has received from its client is extremely positive, as the client was very pleased to hear that the Judgment Debtor's Application had been dismissed and that the Judgment Debtor had been ordered to pay all his costs.
