Thomas Mitty

Areas of expertise

• Art, Cultural Property, and Luxury Goods

  Art, Cultural Property, and Luxury Goods

  Recent instructions include:

  • Led by Nigel Jones KC in a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in, amongst other things, art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
  • Led by David Pliener KC in a four-way dispute over the possession of a painting by Picasso, involving issues of title, bailment, conversion, breach of contract, and deposits.
  • Acting in a claim for arising from the breach of a contract for the sale of Chinese antiquities.
  • Acted for an art authenticator who was vexatiously sued in negligence after declaring an artwork to be a fake. Tom was successful in striking out the claim.
  • Acted in an application under Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 on behalf of the director of a Pokémon card grading company.
• Civil fraud

  Civil fraud

  Recent instructions as junior counsel include:

  • Tom successfully acted as junior counsel for the main Defendants in Skatteforvaltningen (Danish Customs and Tax Authority) v Solo Capital Partners LLP & Ors, led by Nigel Jones KC, Sarah McCann, Lisa Freeman (Furnival Chambers), and Emily Betts. This landmark Commercial Court case involved claims totalling £1.4 billion, including deceit, conspiracy, unjust enrichment, breach of constructive trust, dishonest assistance, and knowing receipt arising from complex share trading. In October 2025, the Defendants succeeded in defending all claimsbrought by Skatteforvaltningen. Read more here.
  • Led by Nigel Jones KC in a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in complex financial structured products, real property, and art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
  • Led by David Pliener KC in recovering funds from a solicitor who fraudulently misappropriated clients’ assets.

  Recent instructions as sole counsel include:

  • Acting in a claim where payment was made based on a forged invoice.
  • Acted in a building dispute involving issues of forged evidence at trial.
  • Acted in relation to a suspected ‘romance scam’.
  • Acted for the defendant in a one-day preliminary issue trial involving an allegation that a signature on a deed of trust was forged.
  • Assisted with an advice on limitation in a claim for misrepresentation.
• Commercial dispute resolution

  Commercial dispute resolution

  Tom’s specialist practice areas mean that he is frequently in the Commercial Court and Circuit Commercial Court. In addition to the specialist areas listed on the other tabs, he has the following experience in general commercial disputes.

  Recent instructions as junior counsel include:

  • Led by James Shaw in a one-day trial in the London Circuit Commercial Court relating to the construction of a joint venture agreement.
  • Assisted David Lewis KC and Charles Raffin acting for a major national franchisor in a termination dispute with former franchisee.

  Recent instructions as sole counsel include:

  • Acting in the one-day trial of a claim involving the terms of an oral share purchase agreement.
  • Advised on a claim involving a breach of a publishing contract.
  • Advised on claiming for breach of an exclusivity agreement in an M&A transaction.
  • Advised on the prospects of enforcing a business purchase agreement through specific performance.
  • Acted for the claimant in a trial listed for two days to determine the effect of a clawback provision in a share purchase agreement. Tom was successful in striking out the defendant’s defence on the first morning.
  • Advised on the enforceability of guarantees totalling £150,000.
  • Acted in a one-day trial in relation to a disputed loan agreement.
  • Acted for the claimant in a three-day trial involving a disputed loan agreement.
  • Advised on the validity of a brokering agreement on an urgent basis.
  • Acted in an application for summary judgment by a major national franchisor.
• Construction & engineering

  Construction & engineering

  A significant part of Tom’s practice involves settling pleadings and adjudication submissions in construction disputes, including in multi-party disputes.

  Recent instructions as junior counsel include:

  • Led by George Eyre in a Part 8 claim for declarations regarding an adjudicator’s decision.

  Recent instructions as sole counsel include:

  • Acted in an adjudication involving issues of wrongful termination.
  • Acted for the contractor in a claim involving allegations of defective workmanship.
  • Acted for the employer in a three-day trial where both the identity of the contracting party and the value of the works were in dispute.
  • Acted for the employer in a one-day trial involving allegations of defective workmanship.
  • Acted in a mediation for a contractor involving allegations of defective workmanship.
  • Providing urgent advice to a contractor on their right to terminate a contract.
• Injunctions and interim applications

  Injunctions and interim applications

  Recent instructions as sole counsel include:

  • Acted (without notice and on an urgent basis) in an injunction brought by a company to prevent an individual from holding himself out as a director, and to deliver up the access codes to the company’s Companies House web page.
  • Advised on the prospects of a freezing injunction.
  • Acted in both interim and final hearings in applications for anti-social behaviour injunctions.
  • Acted (including without notice and on an urgent basis) in applications for injunctions against trespassers (including against persons unknown).
  • Acted for applicants for access injunctions, in both the civil and criminal courts.
  • Acted in enforcement hearings for breaches of Tomlin and consent orders.
  • Advised (on an urgent basis) on the prospects of an injunction to restrain a winding up petition.
  • Acted in an application for security for costs.
  • Drafted an application for specific disclosure.
  • Acted in a claim to controlled goods under Part 85.

  Tom regularly appears in all manner of interim applications, including applications for strike out, summary judgment, security for costs, amendment, and extensions of time.

• Insolvency, companies & partnership

  Insolvency, companies & partnership

  Recent instructions as junior counsel include:

  • Led by Nigel Jones KC in a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in complex financial structured products, real property, and art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
  • Assisted with the drafting of an unfair prejudice petition.
  • Led by Paul Strelitz in an application for permission to appeal a decision to give permission to pursue a derivative claim.
  • Led by Jonathan Titmuss in advising a trustee in bankruptcy on realising the assets of a limited liability partnership.
  • During pupillage, assisted Emily Betts and Ryan Hocking to act for the majority shareholder of Cardiff City Football Club in the 6 day trial of a complex unfair prejudice petition (Isaac v Tan & Cardiff City Football Club (Holdings) Limited [2023] 1 B.C.L.C. 133)

  Recent instructions as sole counsel include:

  • Acting for the liquidator of two retail companies in relation to misfeasance claims with combined values of over £800,000.
  • Acted (without notice, at the return date, and at several hearings of applications to set aside / vary the order) in an injunction brought by a company to prevent an individual from holding himself out as a director, pending resolution of a trial on the issue.
  • Drafted proceedings under Section 1096 of the Companies Act 2006 to remove filings from Companies House.
  • Drafted a claim for breach of director’s duties for the assignee of a liquidator’s claims against a company’s directors.
  • Acted for the liquidator of a construction company in a director’s misfeasance claim worth approximately £800,000.
  • Advising on the prospects of an injunction to restrain a winding up petition on an urgent basis following the collapse of a well-known energy company.

  Tom also regularly appears in the High Court and County Court in bankruptcy and winding-up petitions, and related hearings.

• Professional negligence

  Professional negligence

  Recent instruction as junior counsel include:

  • Led by David Pliener KC in recovering funds from a solicitor who fraudulently misappropriated clients’ assets.
  • Led by Sara Ibrahim in a complex professional negligence dispute against a solicitor, valued at over £2 million. The professional negligence claim requires the reconstruction of an equal pay claim.