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MWP obtains judgment against Mr T. I. Sinclair in England

By his judgment of 11 January 2017, Master Leonard in the Senior Courts Cost Office of the English High Court of Justice recorded his decision to set aside an order made by him at a hearing on 5 February 2016 which had, in turn, set aside a default costs certificate obtained by MWP against Mr T. I. Sinclair in August 2015.

The default costs certificate was issued in favour of MWP, pursuant to the Order of Master Eyre of 19 October 2014, by which all of the judgments and orders obtained by MWP in its favour against Mr Sinclair from the Bahamas Supreme Court, the Bahamas Court of Appeal and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council were reciprocally recognised and also became judgments of the English High Court, amounting to some US$3m, following proceedings which Mr Sinclair (acting together with Mr Emmott) had improperly commenced there in October 2006, and which were found to be an abuse of process.

In coming to his decision the Master recognised that: Mr Sinclair had failed in his obligations under the CPR to provide an accurate and complete address for service on MWP that, as a result, the application notice and related documents leading to the 5 February 2016 hearing had not been validly served, MWP had not had the opportunity to attend the hearing and put its case; further, that Mr Sinclair had failed to bring the hearing to MWP’s attention when he clearly knew that MWP was unaware of such (again contrary to his obligations under the CPR); and finally, that he had failed to provide his representative at the 5 February 2016 hearing with up-to-date and accurate instructions, with the result that the Master had been seriously misled on a material point on which he had relied in making his order.

As a result of the judgment, there will now be an inter-partes hearing of Mr Sinclair’s application to set-aside the default costs certificate, in relation to which MWP is confident of success, given the findings in the instant judgment referred to above, which also included an acknowledgment that MWP was not only entitled to commence detailed assessment proceedings against Mr Sinclair, but also was perfectly entitled to have applied for and obtained the default costs certificate. The parties will also make submissions as to costs, which MWP anticipates being awarded to it, as the victorious and wronged party.

About MWP:

MWP is a full service law firm with offices in both Almaty and Baku covering Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Central Asian Region and the Caucasus. MWP was established in Almaty in July 1998 and in Baku in 2003. Today it is recognised as one of the leaders in the Central Asian and Caucasus Region, combining years of collective experience throughout the CIS.

Before founding MWP, Mr Wilson was the founding partner of the major international law firm, Baker & McKenzie throughout this Region, establishing offices for that firm from scratch in Almaty, Tashkent, Bishkek, Astana and Baku, which were the most successful group of new offices ever established anywhere in the world in the long history of Baker & McKenzie.

However, in order to better meet the needs of multinational and local clients for premier quality legal advice, know-how and innovative work product, MWP was established as a fully independent international law firm, operating through offices in Almaty and Baku, focused upon the Central Asian and Caucasus Region, and which works together with and cooperates with many of the world’s leading firms.

For more information, please contact Assel Kulisheva at Assel.Kulisheva@mwp.kz or visit our websites at www.mwp.kz and www.mwp.az.


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