Tom Snelling

Commercial Litigation 

• Representing Renault in the NOx Diesel Emissions Group Litigation in London, proceedings of an unprecedented scale (with around 1.8 million claims issued against car manufacturers) and complexity. In an extensive liability ruling in July, the High Court rejected all claims against Renault.
• Representing Privinvest, a world leader in naval shipbuilding, in a USD 3.1bn high-profile, complex Commercial Court claim (now on appeal to the Court of Appeal) brought by the Republic of Mozambique against Credit Suisse, Privinvest, and others. The claim relates to supply agreements and supporting financial instruments and guarantees entered into by state-owned enterprises dedicated to the development of Mozambique’s offshore Exclusive Economic Zone and supporting international investment into its oil and gas reserves. The claim engages allegations of bribery of Mozambican government officials. An appeal on issues of sovereign immunity featured in The Lawyer’s Top 10 Appeals of 2024. Following judgment against Privinvest (though in which most of Mozambique’s allegations failed), Privinvest obtained permission to appeal on numerous grounds, including on whether a fair trial was possible in light of established disclosure breaches by Mozambique. The appeal is listed to be heard by the Court of Appeal in June 2026.
• Advising a California-based tech company on a potential dispute with a developer of one of the top ten most popular entertainment apps in the US.
• Representing Cargill in its long running dispute against one of the largest steel manufacturers in India. In 2019, Tom successfully obtained summary judgment in favour of Cargill and an award of default compensation at a rate of LIBOR plus 12%. This was one of the first cases to apply the UK Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Cavendish Square v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67, which redefined English law as to when contractual obligations are an unenforceable penalty.
• Representing Farahead Holdings in a complex cross-border dispute relating to USD 335m in oil trading profits and involving allegations of fraud, conspiracy and breach of directors’ duties. The litigation involved freezing and asset disclosure injunctions being granted in favour of an entity connected to an ultra-high-net-worth individual and a related jurisdictional dispute being appealed to the UK Supreme Court and a successful preliminary reference to the CJEU.
• Representing a major bank in one of the most significant pieces of post-credit crunch litigation in the English Courts and then obtaining one of the largest non-party costs orders ever made.  To enforce the resulting judgment debt, Tom successfully had equitable receivers appointed and defeated a subsequent attempt to set aside their appointment.  Related proceedings include obtaining Norwich Pharmacal relief in England and Wales and Guernsey, litigation in the Turks and Caicos Islands, proceedings in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales determining the UK’s contempt of court jurisdiction against foreign defendants, successful enforcement action in the Norwegian Supreme Court (leading to the sale of a key asset in 2020), and a US trial in late 2019.
• Representing Deutsche Bank in its dispute with Unitech, one of the first cases to consider the civil consequences of alleged LIBOR manipulation. This case had been to the Court of Appeal on a number of interlocutory points (including LIBOR) and at trial in 2019, the Court entered judgment (on the first day of the trial) against Unitech for approximately USD 315m.
• Representing Hutchison 3G in a dispute with its network software supplier concerning delays in production and quality.
• Advising a global feed business on litigation strategy issues in the context of a potential dispute with a leading private equity house.
• Representing a multinational in its successful defence of English High Court group litigation proceedings brought by a group of landowners, claiming for environmental damage allegedly caused by the construction of an oil pipeline.
• Representing Accenture in a GBP multi-million dispute with Centrica (British Gas) over the design and implementation of the largest billing system ever installed for a major utility company.
• Advising manufacturers and retailers of food, feed and consumer products in connection with numerous safety issues, including global product recalls and an investigation into the cause of a USD multi-million food contamination crisis.
• Advising a major international consumer products manufacturer on third party disclosure obligations in England and Wales and in connection with a six week‚ USD 150m High Court trial.
• Advising on potential follow-on litigation claims in the English High Court by institutional shareholders against a major UK based/listed consumer products plc following on from US DOJ fines in excess of USD 635m.

Administrative and Public Law  

• Advising a multinational manufacturer on judicial review strategy in the context of potential high profile regulatory enforcement action by a UK Government Agency.
• Obtaining a reference from the English High Court and then bringing proceedings in the CJEU to challenge the legality of the EU’s revised Tobacco Products Directive.
• Advising a global product manufacturer on complex challenges to UK and EU food law.
• Advising clients on requests under the UK Freedom of Information Act regime and in the making of related requests under legislation of an EU Member State and of an international organisation that aims to promote global financial stability.
• Bringing judicial review/constitutional challenge proceedings in the English High Court, Court of Appeal, the UK Supreme Court, the Australian High Court and the Irish Courts against bans on the branding of certain consumer products.

Other

• Representing a major multinational retailer in relation to complex and high value ICC arbitration proceedings brought by a private equity house involving a six-week hearing. The arbitration lead to an award of GBP 119m.
• Representing a UK plc in the energy sector in a USD multi-million LCIA dispute with an international energy group concerning the allocation of tax liabilities following a sale of energy assets.
• Advising clients on appearances before UK Parliamentary Select Committees.
• Advising a client on a potential bilateral investment treaty claim in an extractives industry context.
• Representing the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in the 2016 UK Supreme Court hearing of R (on the application of MM (Lebanon) v Secretary of State for the Home Department).