Offshore Litigation Blog

In the recent case of Chow v Tong [2024] HKCFI 2737, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (the Court) provides helpful guidance on the interpretation and enforcement of exclusive jurisdiction clauses. This approach will have a bearing on the circumstances in which the Court will grant a stay of proceedings or find that the principle of forum non conveniens applies on the basis of arguments regarding jurisdiction. The ruling also reaffirms the long-held position regarding strangers to a trust, as well as the rights of beneficiaries to obtain trust documents.

In the world of trust law, the principle that "equity will not assist a volunteer by completing an imperfect gift" has endured for over a century. This principle was established in the historical case of Milroy v Lord (1862) 2 GF & J 264 and continues to be instructive in trust and estate disputes to this day.

The Privy Council, overturning a decision of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, has clarified the requirements for a claimant wishing to establish that a transaction was procured by undue influence.

In a welcome decision of the BVI Commercial Court in its recent decision in the case of Ieremeieva v Estera Corporate Services (BVI) Limited, the court considered and clarified the positions as a matter of BVI law on (i) the requirements for establishing a person as a trustee de son tort and (ii) the reference date in determining whether an invalidated trust instrument is to be treated as invalidated ex tunc (from the date that it was executed) or ex nunc (from the date on which it was invalidated).

In the High Court, Lifestyle Equities, (Lifestyle) successfully claimed that Hornby had infringed their trademarks. Lifestyle also successfully sued the Ahmeds personally, alleging they were jointly liable by sharing a common design with Hornby. Trademark infringement uses strict liability, which meant that there was no need for Lifestyle to prove that the Ahmeds knew of or intended the infringement.

In the recent decision of AA v JTC (Cayman) Limited, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands sets out for the first time the principles applicable to an application by an enforcer of a STAR trust for the Court’s approval of a ‘momentous’ decision in relation to the proposed exercise of the enforcer’s fiduciary powers.

This article will examine how a trustee can seek the court’s approval of its participation in any such litigation by ordering that the trustee be indemnified in respect of costs from the trust funds.

In the recent decision of G Trust, the Cayman Islands Grand Court had little hesitation in directing that the trustee could apply to restrain certain beneficiaries from pursuing an application in Hong Kong to appoi…

The recent English case of Grosskopf v Grosskopf concerned an application by trustees for a stay of claims brought against them by a beneficiary. The beneficiary alleged misconduct by the trustees and sought the appointment of a judicial trustee pursuant to the Judicial Trustees Act 1896.