Catherine Naylor

Civil fraud, asset tracing and recovery

• Representing, in the High Court and then in the Court of Appeal, a Channel Islands-based professional services firm and its former director in a GBP 25m fraudulent breach of trust claim brought by the liquidators of two property-holding SPVs. The clients successfully defeated all claims and were awarded significant costs.
• Representing professional trustees in a long-running USD 330m multi-jurisdictional dispute arising from the Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal, where the clients were being sued in England, the US (New York) and Bermuda. Ultimately, the matter settled on commercial terms following success in a trial of preliminary issues. The case involved a number of applications in the BVI for Beddoe relief, allowing the costs of defending the proceedings to be paid from the funds held on trust.
• Representing Brazilian insolvency office holder claimants in a USD 1.5bn LCIA arbitration claim concerning breach of oil drilling contracts arising from allegations of widespread corruption against a multi-national petroleum company, including dealing with complex litigation funding and security for costs issues.
• Representing the judicial administrator of a Brazilian holding company whose investigations revealed that USD 1.5bn of assets may have been misappropriated, including to entities in the UK, over which the office holder appointed receivers and managers further to investigate.
• Representing the bankruptcy estate of a Brazilian group of companies in respect of applications in the UK seeking to take control of certain English entities to enable further investigations to recover assets in excess of USD 80m.

Commercial litigation

• Representing a global retailer and brand owner and 14 individuals defending an unfair prejudice petition worth more than GBP 130m. Almost all of the claim was struck out following contested applications in the High Court and then the Court of Appeal, which handed down a significant decision regarding the statutory limitation periods applicable to unfair prejudice petitions. Ultimately, the case went to the Supreme Court.
• Representing a Channel Islands-registered JV party in the natural resources sector in expedited High Court proceedings brought by its Canadian JV counterparty defending allegations of breach of the joint venture agreement to develop and manufacture of vanadium redox flow batteries. Following a highly contested trial, the client succeeded on all points and defeated attempts to remove its representatives from the board.
• Representing a UK-based venture capital firm in a high-value unfair prejudice petition involving complex allegations of fraud brought by a group of venture capital funds regarding a funding round in a fintech company.
• Representing a Channel Islands fiduciary services firm in GBP 42m High Court proceedings concerning negligent breach of duty and vicarious liability. The case settled on commercial terms following a successful summary judgment application.
• Representing a financial services corporate parent on a GBP 52m post-M&A double derivative claim in the High Court following the purported enforcement of certain high value loan notes, seeking declarations, damages and rectification of certain deal documents.
• Representing the energy subsidiary of a US multi-national banking institution in respect of a multi-million pound claim brought by a Swedish trading counterparty concerning the alleged breach of eight fuel oil contracts.
• Advising a Channel Islands holding company in relation to GBP 40m claims advanced against it under an indemnity in a sale and purchase agreement concerning certain financial products that were allegedly mis-sold.
• Representing a luxury antiques and fine art company in muti-million dollar proceedings against its former directors in which it was alleged that one of the directors had misled a New York court-appointed receiver in respect of valuable assets and in respect of which both the SEC and DOJ were investigating.

Insolvency litigation

• Representing the trustees in bankruptcy of a HNW individual bringing a multi-million pound section 423 Insolvency Act claim alleging that a valuable London property had been transferred to a Bermudian trustee in a transaction defrauding creditors.
• Representing foreign office holders, in particular based in Brazil, in proceedings to recognise their appointment in the UK under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations and advising on subsequent asset recovery actions.
• Advising the court-appointed receivers of English entities potentially involved in a USD 1.5bn fraudulent scheme on asset recovery strategies, including in the BVI and Anguilla.