Offshore Litigation Blog

On 4 June 2025, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in Waller-Edwards v One Savings Bank Plc. The judgment provides welcome certainty to lenders as to when they are put ‘on inquiry’ of undue influence in hybrid loan transactions.

The UK Supreme Court has recently provided important clarification as to the breadth of Section 213 of the Insolvency Act in Bilta (UK) Ltd (In Liquidation) v Tradition Financial Services Ltd (Bilta), holding that it is not intended to apply only to persons exercising management or control of the company’s business, but extends also to third party outsiders who have assisted or knowingly become parties to the carrying on of fraudulent business.

In the recent decision of In the Matter of Position Mobile Ltd SEZC, the Cayman Islands Grand Court has thoroughly reviewed the legal test as to whether the documents of a subsidiary are within the “power” of its parent company in the context of a specific discovery application in winding-up proceedings. The decision also serves as a helpful reminder on the importance of formulating specific discovery applications with precision and full particulars.

In a recent BVI case, the Commercial Court navigated various issues arising out of a winding up application brought by a creditor against a struck off and dissolved BVI company, based on an unregistered foreign judgment.

The jurisdiction of the Cayman and BVI courts to adjudicate claims depends upon whether the defendant(s) to those claims can lawfully be served with originating process.

The English Court of Appeal’s decision in Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle concerns the issue of whether unregistered or non-domesticated foreign judgments or arbitration awards can be used as a basis for insolvency proceedings. The English Court of Appeal ruled that such judgments cannot serve as a basis for bankruptcy petitions in England.

In the recent Cayman decision of L.R. Capital China Growth II Company Limited (LR Capital) v International Corporation Services Ltd (ICS) , Justice Asif refused preservation orders and sealing and gagging orders sought by the Plaintiffs in support of an intended Norwich Pharmacal application.

In the recent unreported decision of Clico International Life Insurance Ltd & Anor v Eastern Caribbean Baptist Mission & Ors, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal (COA) provided useful guidance on when it is appropriate to “lift the veil”, as an exception to the well-established legal principle that companies have separate legal personality.

The Cayman Islands Grand Court recently considered the circumstances necessitating a second adjournment of a trial where a principal witness was unable to travel outside of the PRC to attend trial for cross-examination. In In The Matter of Shiliu Investment Group Limited, the Court re-examined the principles of fairness in a somewhat novel situation where the only two witnesses at trial were unable to travel to the Cayman Islands to give evidence.

The recent English High Court decision in Kireeva v Clement Glory Limited considered conflicts of law principles for the purposes of determining the location of shares in a BVI company and whether the English Court had jurisdiction to hear a trust claim regarding the beneficial ownership of BVI shares.

The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands follows the Privy Council decision in Sian v Halimeda and confirms that an applicant for an injunction restraining the presentation of a winding up petition must show that the debt is disputed on genuine and substantial grounds, even where there is an arbitration agreement.

In the recent decision involving Trillion Glory Limited and R&F Properties (HK) Company Limited, Madam Justice Linda Chan of the High Court of Hong Kong dismissed winding-up petitions filed by a secured creditor, on the basis that the secured creditor lacked a real interest in the proposed liquidations and there was no benefit in issuing a winding-up order due to the absence of assets for unsecured creditors.