Briony Worthing

Banking & Financial Markets – Group Action

• Representing over 200 institutional claimants with respect to over 1,000 different funds/portfolios in a significant group claim against a large UK bank in relation to allegations of breach of statutory obligations under s.90 and s.90A Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The claim relates to alleged omissions and/or misleading statements in published information over an extensive period of 12 years arising from alleged misconduct, including breaches of Iranian sanctions.  The losses alleged amount to c. GBP1.5bn.  The case was successfully settled.

Commercial Litigation

• Representing partners in a UK private equity firm, along with associated global entities, in a Commercial Court claim alleging diversion of the business opportunity to conduct an asset recovery process on behalf of the Family and Estate of the late Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian billionaire. The proceedings were split between establishing liability for breach of fiduciary duty and subsequently an account of profits. It is one of the largest and most complex account of profits addressed by the English Courts, with an account of c. USD130m. Briony represented the Defendants during the account of profits phase. This included resisting an application for an interim payment, a trial of six weeks with over 20 factual and expert witnesses, and a subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeal.
• Representing high-net-worth individuals in the following proceedings:
  • Defending High Court proceedings in respect of assets worth more than USD 2bn involving claims relating to trusts, joint ventures, misappropriation and fraud. The proceedings included the first ever joint trial of separate overlapping claims in the Commercial Court and Chancery Division.  They gave rise to a large number of interlocutory applications, including defending an application for a freezing injunction over trust assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars and a dispute regarding limited waiver of privilege which was determined by the Court of Appeal.  Briony represented the Defendants throughout the conjoined proceedings, including the three-month joint trial in the Commercial Court which resulted in successful determination of certain preliminary issues in the Chancery actions.  The Chancery actions were successfully settled following delivery of judgment in joint trial.
  • A claim in the Commercial Court for over USD 1.5bn in damages arising from breach of an oral agreement regarding investments made with the proceeds of sale of an interest in a Russian aluminium company. The proceedings included an application for permission to serve the claim form outside of the jurisdiction.  The case was successfully settled shortly before trial.
  • A Part 8 claim for directions in in the administration of an estate. These proceedings included successful applications for permission to serve the claim form out of the jurisdiction, and for a loan to be made from moneys held by interim administrators to fund litigation in respect of the estate assets.
  • An UNCITRAL arbitration regarding expropriation of assets by the Georgian state, which was successfully settled.
• Representing a large group of retail investors in one of the most significant pieces of international investment litigation in modern history. It concerned breach of contract and misrepresentation claims against major life insurance companies to recover losses in excess of GBP 100m suffered from failed investment bonds. The proceedings in the Isle of Man are ongoing and are the first of their kind in that jurisdiction.