Tom has a broad-based commercial practice. His work covers all forms of commercial and business disputes, including sale and hire of goods, franchising and directors’ duties. Tom also has extensive experience of cases involving allegations of fraud. Details of Tom’s banking and finance can be found in a separate section of this CV.
Tom is often instructed to advise in relation to and represent clients seeking interim remedies, such as freezing injunctions, often on an urgent basis. Tom has a particular expertise in claims for rescission, having acted over the course of 2½ years for GE in defending a claim by HMRC to rescind a tax settlement made in 2005 (see further, below).
Examples of Tom’s commercial work
- Malton Foods Ltd v Parsley Box Ltd – Tom acts for a manufacturer of ambient food products in its claim under a exclusivity agreement with a supplier
- Tortuga Beach Resort Apartment 111/16 Ltd v Hannah – Tom (leading James Shaw) acts for over 700 companies alleging breach of fiduciary duty against a director in connection with an offshore fractional property ownership scheme
- Acting for a Pakistani sugar producer in a sale of goods dispute with a Swiss buyer of ethanol
- Alliance Surgical v Primus Medical Indemnity – Tom acts for the defendant in a claim for alleged misuse of confidential information
- Acting for an underwriting agency in a claim for unpaid commission against a leading insurer
- Perenco UK Ltd v Stahl – Tom (led by David Lewis KC) acted for the claimant in a sale of goods dispute relating to lighting installations of offshore helipads.
- Foenix Partners v Infinity International – Tom (led by PJ Kirby KC) acted for the defendant in the trial of a claim for breach of an SPA in respect of an FX brokerage. Tom’s client succeeded on a (rare) submission of no case to answer.
- Providing an independent opinion for the purpose of a contractual dispute resolution mechanism under an SPA
- Times Travel (UK) Ltd and another v Pakistan International Airlines Corporation [2021] UKSC 40; [2019] EWCA Civ 828: Tom acted for the successful defendant airline in a dispute concerning commission payments to agent. It is the leading case on lawful act economic duress.
- HMRC v IGE USA Investments Limited and others [2020] EWHC 1716 (Ch), [2021] EWCA Civ 534: Tom acted for defendants, all members of the GE group, in a claim by HMRC to rescind a tax settlement made in 2005. The dispute, which settled shortly before trial, gave rise to two significant interlocutory appeals, in both of which Tom was successful. In the first ([2020] EWHC 1716 (Ch)), James Pickering KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, held that the Disclosure Pilot did not limit the court’s power to order specific disclosure to only those issues contained within the List of Issues for Disclosure. In the second ([2021] EWCA Civ 534), the Court of Appeal held that claims for equitable rescission on the ground of fraudulent misrepresentation were, by virtue of section 36 of the Limitation Act 1980, subject to the same six-year limitation period as claims in the tort of deceit.
- N and another v F and T Limited: Tom acts for the claimants, who allege that the defendants conspired to defraud the first defendant’s former employer by ‘stealing’ its thread-vein treatment business. The case is listed for a week-long trial in January 2022
- GRMA-Pardus Wealth Ltd v Paterson: Tom obtained a freezing injunction against an individual alleged to have used various offshore entities to defraud Tom’s client of EUR 1.5m.
- Acted (with Nigel Jones KC and Emily Betts) for an American company in a claim against a Saudi agent in relation to substantial commercial tender in Saudi Arabia. Tom assisted with anti-suit and freezing injunctions in the Commercial Court seeking to prevent the bringing of conflicting proceedings in the Saudi courts.
- As sole counsel, Tom acted for the claimant in a substantial, multi-party fraud. Tom successfully obtained a freezing injunction in the Chancery Division (Birmingham District Registry).
- The Color Company (TM) Limited v Lillywhite and others (2016 unreported, HHJ Luba KC):
Tom successfully resisted the claimant’s application for an interim injunction restraining three of its former employees from solicitation of customers on behalf of their new employer. Amongst other issues, the case concerned the enforceability of post-termination restrictive covenants.
- Advising an electronic components supplier in relation to a multi-party product liability claim.
- Salt v Stratstone Specialist Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 745:
Acted for the Defendant in the Court of Appeal concerning rescission of a contract of sale.
- Thorney Park Golf Ltd v Myers Catering Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 19:
Court of Appeal case concerning the construction of a franchise agreement.
- Chatfields-Martin Walter Ltd v Lombard North Central PLC [2014] EWHC 1222 (QB):
Tom successfully represented a motor dealership in an important appeal concerned HPI, the well-known hire purchase information service. Leggatt J said that his case was “extremely well argued”.
- Waite v Paccar Financial PLC [2012] EWCA Civ 901 (CA):
Acted for the Defendant in the Court of Appeal concerning the construction of a lease purchase agreement. McFarlane LJ praised Tom’s “helpful and clear submissions”.
- Acted on a dispute about the beneficial ownership of a vocational training college, in which his clients faced allegations of fraud. The client was ultimately successful on the basis of Tom’s argument that the claim was barred by the principle of no reflective loss.
- Successfully defended a claim for conversion of a tractor. The case involved multiple defendants, and concerned issues of title and the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
- Providing urgent advice for an international security company concerning the evacuation of oil workers from Iraq.
