28th Jun 2012

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Facts

The third claimant company (C) applied for summary judgment, and an interim payment, on its claim for payment for services provided to the first defendant company (R).

The first and second claimants had formed a partnership with the second defendant and provided services to an oil company (BP) in Azerbaijan and Georgia. The partners had agreed that those services would be provided by R, a company owned by the second defendant. The relationship broke down and the partnership was dissolved. The money held in dedicated bank accounts in the United Kingdom and Dubai was held by R on trust for the partnership until it was dissolved and winding up completed. C, which was incorporated in Cyprus, had provided services to R for the purposes of the BP contract and claimed for payments that were overdue.

Held

(1) There was no defence to the claim and C was entitled to the sums claimed together with interest. As it was a commercial debt, a discretionary rate of 4.5 per cent interest was set. The second defendant was ordered to provide a witness statement setting out up-to-date details of worldwide accounts, assets and liabilities, account for what each payment out of the Dubai account was used for, and details of all liabilities pertaining to the BP contract and why they had not been discharged from any account including the Dubai account. (2) An interim payment as partial execution of the judgment was allowed to C as a judgment creditor. There was the small possibility that if and when the accounting exercise took place there would be other creditors with claims against R. As C was domiciled out of the territory, some form of undertaking or indemnity would normally be required that provided for C to return the money if such order was made, but it was not open to the court to discriminate as Cyprus was a member of the European Union and security would not normally be required of a resident in any other EU community.

Application granted

Comment

An interim payment was ordered in respect of a judgment against a partnership that was in the process of being wound up, notwithstanding the possibility of there being other creditors. It was not appropriate to require an undertaking or indemnity to repay the interim payment as the creditor was based in the European Union.


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