Sammy Nanneh

Practice overview

Sammy is currently assisting Pinsent Masons’ international commercial disputes team in Dubai. He is a practising member of the Bar of England & Wales and an Associate Member at Gatehouse Chambers, with whom he seeks to develop his practice in London.

He has experience in the following areas: Banking and Finance, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Commercial Fraud, Construction, Employment, International Arbitration, Insurance, Private International Law and Professional Liability.

He has spent time as a court marshal with the Right Honourable Justice Jefford in the Technology and Construction Court of England and Wales.

Sammy graduated with a Double First in Law and a First in the Commercial LL.M., both from the University of Cambridge. Before coming to the Bar, he spent time in the Energy, Infrastructure and Projects team at White & Case LLP in London and the litigation team at Rajah & Tann LLP Singapore.

Outside of the law he is a keen sportsman and has an appetite for adventure.

Professional Associations

• The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

Qualifications

• BTPC (Very Competent) – BPP Law School
• LL.M. Commercial Law (First) – University of Cambridge
• BA Law (Double First) – University of Cambridge

Scholarships and Prizes

• Major Scholar (Honourable Society of the Inner Temple)
• BPP Scholarship for Excellence (BPP University)
• University of Cambridge: •James William Squire Scholar
• MacMahon Scholar
• McAulay Scholar
• Hogan Lovells Award
• Rebecca Flower Award

Languages

• Arabic

Commercial Dispute Resolution

Banking & Finance

Assisted with:

• Drafting trial skeleton in case about the proper construction of a letter of credit following an international fraud (Yuchai Dongte Special Purpose Automobile Company Ltd v Suisse Credit Capital [2018] EWHC 2580 (Comm)).
• Drafting the appeal skeleton in a novel claim against a bank in respect of its role as arranger in a Sukuk issue (Golden Belt v BNP Paribas [2017] EWHC 3182 (Comm)).
• Drafting claim in negligent misstatement against a bank for financial misselling of a bond issue.
• Drafting advice on dispute between a private equity investment trust and manager of the trust funds.
• Drafting advice following wrongful termination of a swap agreement, raising issues of jurisdiction and unjust enrichment.
• Sole counsel representing Nationwide Building Society to resist the addition of expert witness due to bias.
• Sole counsel representing Barclays Bank following its incorrect inclusion in a freezing injunction application

 Civil Fraud & Asset Tracing

Assisted with:

• Drafting freezing injunction for a £200m claim against a number of shell companies.
• Major fraud involving the collapsed investment firm Universal Wealth Management.

Commercial Arbitration

• Familiar with UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA and ad hoc arbitrations as well as the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration.

Assisted with:

• Drafting skeleton for a s.67/s.68 challenge following a LCIA mining arbitration seated in London concerning the supply of iron ore.
• S.67 challenge in Commercial Court following an Oil & Gas arbitration (A v B [2017] EWHC 3417 (Comm)).
• Closing submissions for a DIFC-LCIA Arbitration arising out of a shareholder dispute following the unlawful termination of a joint hotel venture.
• Research on the powers of an arbitrator to order interim measures under JAMS, Art.17A UNCITRAL, Art.24 DIFC Arbitration law and s.39 Arbitration Act 1996.
• Drafting Final Award in an arbitration governed by ICC Rules seated in London about various unpaid invoices under an engineering services agreement.

Commercial Litigation

Assisted with:

• £10m contractual dispute involving National Express and one of its sub-contractors. Assisted with preparation of cross-examination.
• Defending a claim to rectify a share option formula.
• Advising a broadcasting company in an urgent conversion claim to recover production materials.
• Advising Sotheby’s following £10m art fraud (e.g. Sotheby’s v Mark Weiss Ltd [2018] EWHC 3179 (Comm)).
• Drafting particulars of claim for a major British mobile phone retailer in a £10m contractual claim.
• Drafting skeleton for an Art.267 TFEU reference to the ECJ challenging EU Regulation 2017/1167.
• Preparing submissions in a Supreme Court hearing on the subject of VAT groups (Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v Taylor Clarke Leisure Plc [2018] UKSC 35).
• Advised on a $250,000 breach of warranty (non-disclosure) claim in the DIFC Courts following an employee’s bonus claim raising issues about the proper construction of a notification of circumstances.
• Preparing grounds for judicial review of a public sector salary sacrifice scheme, which involved construing VAT Act 1994 alongside Contracted Out Services Guidance.
• Acted as sole counsel in claim for negligent repair work and unlawful detention of a vehicle.

Employment & Executive Disputes

• Drafted advice on a dispute between a senior fund manager and his employer bank raising issues about restrictive covenants, anticipatory breach, loss of a chance, estoppel by representation, rectification and construction of a share remuneration scheme.
• Acts as sole counsel in the Employment Tribunal.

Assisted with:

• Drafting the Claimant’s opening submissions in a claim for declarations that a CEO did not breach her garden leave and was not bound by her post-termination restrictions.
• Cross-border team move case in which the claimant alleged its employees were poached.

Intellectual Property

• Assisted with a cross-border claim against an English production company for breach of confidence and copyright.

Private International Law

• Advised on prospect of enforcement within English jurisdiction of a credit card debt governed by UAE law.
• Drafted application for permission to serve out of the jurisdiction (CPR 6.36) as part of an insurer’s pursuit of a negative declaration.
• Experience of cases involving both Brussels 1 Regulation and domestic jurisdictional gateways.

Assisted with:

• Construing Art.22 Brussels 1 Recast (employees).
• Case raising issues about the approach of the Court to actual and constructive knowledge in respect of Kazakh limitation law and the disapplication of foreign limitation periods under s.1 (1) Foreign Limitation Periods Act 1984.

Construction & Engineering

Adjudication

• Advised on a challenge to an adjudication award on grounds of a serious breach of natural justice.

Construction Litigation

• High Court Marshal to Mrs Justice Jefford and His Honour Judge Nigel Bird in the Technology & Construction Court – observed enforcement of an adjudication award, challenge to an award on natural justice grounds, pre-trial review, specific disclosure and costs budgeting applications.
• Advised on merits of an insurance claim following defective construction of a floor.
• Drafted claim for breach of a compromise agreement which compromised a JCT Standard Form Contract.
• Acted as sole counsel in a trial following defective building work.
• Acted as sole counsel in a trial raising issue of fraudulent misrepresentation following breach of a contractual term that the receiver of building services must be the owner of the relevant property.

Assisted with:

• Advising on the proper construction of an NHBC Buildmark Policy in relation to the valuation of an indemnity claim.
• Advising on prospects of defending a claim and drafting the defence following a roof collapse.

Construction Arbitration

• Assisted with the drafting of an (ICC) arbitral award following an engineering dispute about unpaid invoices.
• Shipbuilding arbitration involving one of the world’s top 3 shipbuilding companies.

Energy & Renewables

• Drafted a skeleton for s.67 and s.68 challenges in relation to a contractual dispute over the supply of iron ore.
• Involved in a s.67 challenge in the Commercial Court in relation to an oil and gas dispute (A v B [2017] EWHC 3417 (Comm)).
• Assisted with a case in which an oil major wished to resile from its obligation to source LNG following the fall in the price of crude oil.

Insolvency & Restructuring

Personal Insolvency

• Acted as soul counsel in hearing to adjourn a bankruptcy petition.

Insurance

Construction Insurance

• Advised on merits of an insurance claim in relation to the defective construction of a floor.

Other coverage disputes

• Drafted advice on whether a claim under a liability insurance policy was excluded following the fraud of a company employee – it raised a novel question on the law of vicarious liability.
• Drafted advice under a time policy in a marine insurance case about salvage.
• Drafted advice about the proper interpretation of Rules VI and XI (d) (iii) of the York-Antwerp Rules 1994 to determine who bore the legal burden of the cost of environmental damage following an oil spill.
• Experience of the ICOBS rules.

Assisted with:

• Drafting advice on an aviation reinsurance arrangement – specifically the possibility of rearranging the chronology of recoverable losses.
• Drafting pleadings for insurance company following the breach of non-disclosure provisions by a film director.
• Advising on the effect of a breach of notice provision in a reinsurance policy.
• Providing advice on whether the proper construction of a Bermuda Form insurance policy permitted shifting of losses between policy periods.

Private Client

Community Care

• Provided pro bono advice to a religious community on how to properly effect changes to marriage registration rules.

Professional Liability

Financial Professionals, Insolvency Professionals, Directors & Officers

• Drafted appeal skeleton in a novel category of claim in negligence against a bank for its role as arranger of an international Sukuk issue.
• Assisted with advising on merits of defending a claim against an insurance broker alleging that the broker breached its duty to elicit information when renewing the assured’s policy.
• Assisted with drafting a defence to a claim against an insurance broker after the Claimant was unable to claim under the policy following a vehicle theft.

Legal Professionals

Assisted with:

• Drafting claim against solicitors following their negligent advice about a hotel investment fraud.
• Assisted with advising a solicitor on the merits of its defence against a claim that it negligently advised the Claimant about the terms of her divorce settlement.

Property

Housing (Social & Privately Rented)

Acted as sole counsel in:

• Court applications to obtain access to premises.
• Possession hearings.