In ED&F Man v RJ O’Brien and others, the DIFC Court of First Instance (H.E. Justice Omar Al Muhairi) dismissed pre-trial applications brought by the Defendants, including an application for an anti-suit injunction to restrain proceedings in the United States. The DIFC held, on application of English common law principles, that the United States proceedings were not vexatious or oppressive. The Application was the first time in which the DIFC court has determined an anti-suit injunction in the context of an employment claim. The Court also dismissed the Defendants’ applications to exclude recorded telephone call evidence, having regard to Dubai regulatory obligations which apply in the Dubai financial services sector. The DIFC court held that such calls were lawful and therefore no exclusionary rule applied. The claim will now proceed to trial in the DIFC in December 2018.
David Craig QC and Edward Brown, instructed by Tania MacLoed and Tom Spiller of Rosenblatt, and Sulakshana Senanayake of Afridi & Angell, acted for the successful Claimants. The judgment is available here.
