On 29 April 2021 Mr Justice Calver granted an interim anti-suit injunction in favour of the claimant and also permission to serve out and for alternative service. The judgment has been published as ZHD v SQO [2021] EWHC 1262 (Comm).
The order gives effect to the arbitration clause incorporated into a bill of lading and granted both prohibitory and mandatory relief in respect of proceedings brought against a ship-owner by cargo interests before the courts of Vietnam.
The judgment provides a summary of the requirements for grant of anti-suit relief and considers in particular the requirement of promptness and also the effect on an anti-suit application of the fact that the claim brought in breach of the arbitration clause might now be time barred.
A link to the judgment is available here.
Peter Webster, instructed by Gareth Williams of Campbell Johnston Clark, acted for the Claimant at this hearing and the return date.
