25th March 2025
Alex Potts KC has recently appeared before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands in the case of Raiffeisen Bank International AG v Scully Royalty Ltd et al [2025] CIGC (FISD) 23.
The Court delivered a judgment dated 20 March 2025, addressing the Ninth Defendant’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the Court, following the Plaintiff’s earlier ex parte application seeking permission to join the Ninth Defendant as an additional, individual, party to an alleged conspiracy claim involving eight corporate Defendants.
The judgment of Mr. Justice Parker considers the Cayman Islands’ Court’s procedural rules relating to jurisdictional gateways under GCR Order 11, as well as various related arguments on the topics of forum non conveniens and joinder, in circumstances where there was a dispute between the parties as to the applicable governing law, and the nature and extent of any differences between the substantive law of Hong Kong, and the substantive law of the Cayman Islands.
Although the Judge noted that the Cayman Islands litigation had already taken six years to reach its current stage, and it may take another two years before the Plaintiff’s claims against any of the Defendants can progress to trial (whether or not there are further applications or appeals in the meantime), the Judge did not consider that the nature or extent of the delay to date was sufficient to justify the Court exercising its discretion in favour of the Ninth Defendant.
Access the full judgment here.
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