Blog

In Ming Siu Hung v J F Ming Inc., the Privy Council allowed an appeal from the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and upheld the decision of the BVI trial judge which had found unfair prejudice in the conduct of the affairs of the BVI company by the majority shareholder (and which resulted in a buy-out order).

Interim relief in support of foreign proceedings is now available by way of statute in the BVI. As previously prefaced, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Virgin Islands) (Amendment) Act, 2020 has been published in the Gazette and passed into law. The Act is in force from 7 January 2021 and does not have retrospective effect.

On New Year’s Eve the BVI House of Assembly approved important draft legislation that provides for interim relief in support of foreign proceedings. We expect that the legislation will be assented to and will come into force imminently.

In the fifth episode of this season’s Offshore Litigation Take 10 podcast, guest speaker Victor Joffe QC of Temple Chambers joins Ian Mann to discuss Chu v Lau [2020] UKPC 24, a case that considers the test for winding up a company on the just and equitable ground, with particular reference to deadlock.

In its recent decision in JSC VTB Bank v Pavel Skurikhin & Ors the English Court of Appeal dismissed as an abuse of process a challenge to a receivership order where the receivers sought to enforce a judgment of the Court.

The Privy Council has rendered its long-awaited decision in the Eurochem proceedings, overturning the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and reaffirming that the case should proceed in the BVI. Harneys acted for the successful appellant, Eurochem.