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As one of the Isle of Man's pre-eminent litigation practices, we have
been involved in most major pieces of High Court litigation over the
past three decades. Areas of litigation expertise include fraud and asset
tracing, corporate and commercial disputes, banking and insurance
disputes, wills and trusts, employment, professional negligence, judicial
review ("doleance" in Isle of Man law), planning, environmental and real
estate, personal bankruptcy and corporate insolvency and alternative
dispute resolution (ADR).
With the globalisation of international business and the growing
popularity of the Isle of Man as an established offshore centre, our
lawyers have developed particular expertise in the co-ordination of
complex multi-jurisdictional litigation, including tracing actions, fraud
recovery and injunctions.
We are unsurpassed in the field of asset tracing and fraud recovery in
the Isle of Man, having been instrumental in the recovery in recent
years of several hundred million dollars of misappropriated assets.
We are regularly instructed by leading law firms in other jurisdictions,
as well as in-house counsel and foreign governments on a full range of
contentious matters. We have a particularly strong reputation in the
field of High Court litigation, with our advocates regularly appearing in
most of the major corporate, commercial and trust disputes before
the Courts of the Isle of Man. Our advocates have also appeared at
appellate levels (including the Privy Council) on a number of occasions.
In addition, we are experienced in the defence of white collar criminal
proceedings and company director disqualification proceedings.
Our Team
Alan Gough is one of the most senior advocates at the Manx Bar and
was heavily involved in the celebrated Rossminster case, the extensive
litigation which followed the collapse of Savings and Investment Bank
and other famous cases such as Barlow Clowes, Schmidt v Rosewood
Trust and LaSala & Zeidman v Poyiadjis. He has acted as special counsel
to the US bankruptcy court and has been advisor to departments of
the governments of Pakistan, the UK and South Africa.
Mark Holligon (an English solicitor, Manx advocate and Cayman Islands
attorney at law ), has unmatched cross-border insolvency and
restructuring expertise which was put to good use when he advised
the Isle of Man Treasury on the high profile Kaupthing Singer &
Friedlander (Isle of Man) Limited Scheme of Arrangement. Mark is also
probably the most experienced distressed funds lawyer on the Isle of
Man.
Charles Coleman has gained a deserved reputation as a forceful
litigatior at the Manx Bar and appears regularly at appellate level. His
recent cases include the Petition of JG Kelly, Montpellier Tax Planning v
Jones and Morris and Habana Limited v KSF (see below).
Highlights for 2009/10
Petition of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (Isle of Man) Limited
Undoubtedly the biggest Manx insolvency matter of the 21st Century.
On the recommendation of the Attorney General of the Isle of Man,
we were retained by the Isle of Man Government to offer the creditors
of the collapsed bank an alternative to liquidation. As lead counsel on
the matter we retained London solicitors and leading counsel to assist
with preparation of the Scheme documents, assisted by UK
restructuring advisors.
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As lead advisors to Treasury throughout the project, we were
responsible for legal strategy, project direction and coordination. In
addition, we provided a key bridge between Treasury and creditors,
meeting with creditor groups and representatives of the Financial
Supervision Commission. We also worked alongside the Attorney
General’s Chambers to make the necessary revisions to the
Depositors’ Compensation Scheme and assisted in the drafting of two
Early Payment Schemes put in place by Treasury to assist creditors.
Liquidation of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (Isle of
Man) Limited
We acted for a creditor of KSF in test case proceedings against the
bank, seeking a declaration that certain sums were held upon a
constructive or resulting trust rather than on deposit. This sought to
extend the boundaries of trust law in an important area.
Petition of Singer & Friedlander Investment Management Limited
We were appointed by the Manx Court to represent the interests of
a creditor class of Singer & Friedlander Investment (IOM) Management
Limited in test case proceedings against the investment manager, the
outcome of which could have significant repercussions for the creditors
of SFIM, a member of the Kaupthing group.
In the matter of RAB Multi-Strategy Fund plc
We were appointed by the Manx Court, upon the recommendation
of the President of the Manx Institute of Chartered Accountants, to
represent the interests of a class of investors in directions proceedings
brought by the liquidators of the fund regarding methods for calculating
distributions due to investors.
In the matter of Shepherds Select Fund Plc
We act for the liquidator of Shepherds Select Fund Plc in on-going
matters arising out of its high profile collapse in 2004 in particular
investigating whether and to what extent causes of action arise against
various parties.
Sibir Energy Plc and others v Gradison Consultants Inc.
We are acting for Russian oil and gas conglomerate, Sibir Energy Plc
(and associated entities) in Manx aspects of its high profile litigation
with Gradison Consultants Inc (of BVI) arising out of its dispute with Chalva Tchigirinski.
Petition of JG Kelly
We have acted for petitioner in judicial review proceedings challenging
planning refusal relating to the construction of a major residential
development on the Isle of Man.
Montpelier Tax Planning v Jones and Morris
We are acting for the Defendants in this complex intellectual property
and breach of confidence dispute involving a tax planning scheme.
Asset tracing exercise
We acted in a complex international tracing exercise arising out of a
fraud in India. The proceeds of the fraud were channelled through a
series of complex vehicles and involved the co-ordination of
proceedings in the Isle of Man, BVI, Bahamas, Hong Kong and India.
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