Shail Patel

Acting for the defendant in a US$16m banking claim in the Courts of the DIFC

Acting for defendants in a conspiracy and secret commission claim brought by investors in the Ingenious film schemes

Acting for the sellers in a £20m fraud and breach of warranty/SPA claim arising from the sale of a pharmaceutical manufacturing company

Acting for the NHS in a multi £m contractual dispute with a supplier of waste disposal services across the country.

Acting for a major supplier to a high street bank in an outsourcing dispute heard in secret and involving an unprecedented mandatory injunction application in the High Court, with a £60m SPA/warranty claim in the wings.

Shail (with Patrick Lawrence QC) acted for the successful claimant in a two week trial in June 2016 to establish the true ownership of a £15m property in Holland Park.

Shail acted for a respondent to an unusual Norwich Pharmacal and evidence preservation order made in the context of substantial commercial court litigation. Shail acted on the successful application to discharge the injunction, which was set aside as an abuse of process and for significant material non-disclosures. The Judgment of Popplewell J considers the correct approach to the question of the purpose for which Norwich Pharmacal information is to be used.

Acting (with Graham Chapman QC) for a former director of a major property business in a £20m+ claim by a Hong Kong private equity fund for misrepresentation, breaches of fiduciary duty and secret profits. The case has given rise to the leading authority on predictive coding.

Shail acted for the petitioner in heavy unfair prejudice proceedings in the Companies Court regarding a well known London nightclub, successfully obtaining an unusual form of interim injunction against the Respondent to preserve the value of the business.

Acting in a highly acrimonious shareholders’ dispute involving a substantial family owned commodities and property conglomerate. In the English Companies Court proceedings the claimants (instructing Shail) alleged forgery of company documents by the defendants and faced counterclaims regarding the claimants’ commercial conduct in businesses in Malaysia and the Far East.

Acting for PWC in a £600m claim brought by an assignee of the former MD of Keydata Investment Services (a substantial asset management company) arising out of the withdrawal of its regulatory permissions by the FCA. The claim involved serious allegations of breach of duty, conspiracy and misfeasance against the defendants and raised complex issues of privilege and the financial regulatory framework.

Acting with John Powell QC and Graeme McPherson QC for Capital Financial Managers Ltd in a £100m Comm Ct. claim against the promoter and operator of an investment fund specialising in bridging finance. The claimant alleged unlawful promotion of the scheme as a matter of the proper construction of FSMA 2000 and relevant SIs, and that the promotional documents were misleading. There were a large number of complex technical, procedural and factual issues arising.

Advising institutional investors in relation to potential claims worth several hundred million US$ under s.90A of FSMA against Tesco plc arising out of the £260m ‘black hole’ in Tesco’s accounts announced in 2014.

Fraud by directors on a Saudi oil/gas conglomerate by taking secret commissions through offshore financial structures as found by Floyd J ([2013] EWHC 1152). Shail (with Justin Fenwick QC) obtained a worldwide freezing injunction against the defendants and has since appeared at five separate return dates (as sole counsel), successfully retaining and extended the injunction and obtaining information disclosure orders.

Shail acted as sole counsel for individuals who had lost purchase monies for their new home by paying them to fraudsters masquerading as the seller’s solicitors. Shail successfully obtained an unusual form of freezing injunction against the ascertained assets of unascertained defendants and Norwich Pharmacal relief from Burton J, and acted subsequently in seeking to trace and enforce against the misappropriated funds.

Junior counsel for defendant, a substantial travel group. The £35m claim alleged breaches of a sale and purchase agreement and mismanagement of the company sold by C to D.  The case raised complex factual issues (including transfer pricing and accounting matters) and constructions points, and was been subject of a rectification decision (Ch. D) and two appeals to the CA.

Acting on counsel team for Claimants in claims totalling several hundred million USD against the former management and shareholders of the Trinidadian national life assurance company following its nationalisation but the Trinidad government. Claimants alleged misappropriation of assets and policyholder funds as well as financial mismanagement and unauthorised investment.

Acting for the Claimant oil/gas and construction/manufacture companies in claims pleaded at over £50m, alleging malfeasance and financial irregularities against former management of a liquefied natural gas project, and responding to counterclaims. Settled at trial, led by Justin Fenwick QC.

From Autumn 2008 until the conclusion of the 18 week trial in February 2012 shail acted as junior counsel for the Claimants in Brown v InnovatorOne and Ors, a c. £50m claim involving complex tax avoidance schemes and allegations of fraud against individuals and professional advisers, led by John Powell QC and Graham Chapman. Over that period Shail gained unparalleled hands-on experience on all aspects of running complex commercial court proceedings from start to finish.

The issues arising in Innovator included breach of trust, dishonest assistance, conspiracy, insurance and coverage points, and causes of action under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as well as a large number of procedural and satellite matters. Shail has appeared in the following Innovator related decisions:-

• [2011] EWHC 3321 (Comm) – on mid-trial amendments to statements of case; cited at White Book vol. 1: note 17.3.7
• Bjorn Stiedl v Enyo Law LLP [2011] EWHC 2649 (Comm) – where a defendant in the action applied to injunct the Claimants’ solicitors from acting; cited at White Book vol. 1, note 31.3.27 (where Shail appeared at the earlier hearing before Walker J).
• [2008] EWHC 1376 (Comm) – the first reported decision on the correct interpretation of CPR 6.15, cited at White Book vol. 1 note 6.15.3 (on substituted service)
• Further interim applications and hearings: [2011] EWHC 119 (Comm), [2011] EWHC 215 (Comm), [2010] EWHC 2281 (Comm), [2009] EWHC 2905 (Comm), [2009] EWHC 1376 (Comm).

Acting for the vendor bridging finance provider in a dispute over the £1.3m sale of a stately home, involving issues of construction of the Standard Conditions of Sale and allegations of deceit.

Appeared with Sue Carr QC for the supermarket to defend a £2.7m claim brought by one of its former retail partners. Somerfield’s written submissions were described by the High Court as “scholarly, comprehensive and fair”.

Acting for a group of institutional investors in this securities class action against RBS

Acting for an authorised fund manager in a substantial penalty and redress claim brought by the FCA in the RDC.

Acting with John Powell QC and Graeme McPherson QC for Capital Financial Managers Ltd in a £100m Comm Ct. claim against the promoter and operator of an investment fund specialising in bridging finance. The claimant alleged unlawful promotion of the scheme as a matter of the proper construction of FSMA 2000 and relevant SIs, and that the promotional documents were misleading. There were a large number of complex technical, procedural and factual issues arising.

Advising institutional investors in relation to potential claims worth several hundred million US$ under s.90A of FSMA against Tesco plc arising out of the £260m ‘black hole’ in Tesco’s accounts announced in 2014.

Shail acted as sole counsel for a defendant in this multiparty action for damages and an injunction brought by the FCA against various individuals said to have run and profited from unlawful collective investment schemes. The case raised many complex issues under FSMA (a number of which were determining in the Court of Appeal ([2015] EWCA Civ 284).

Acting as sole counsel for an international engineering firm which purchased a complex foreign exchange rate structured derivative from the bank.

Shail appeared with Graham Chapman for the respondents in the Court of Appeal, successfully resisting an appeal relating to authority to issue claim forms and abuse of process. The appeal raised a novel procedural dilemma concerning proceedings issued without authority.

Acting for the paying party in this groundbreaking decision regarding the late stage cancellation and replacement of a Damages Based Agreement with a CFA.

Instructed as costs counsel for the respondent and various companies and is involved in advising on and coordinating strategy on numerous sets of detailed assessment proceedings arising out of a series of high profile High Court judgments in this long running oligarch litigation involving TNK-BP (Russia’s third largest oil producer) and the respondent.

Instructed with Nick Bacon QC for the bank in respect of its strategy to manage the costs of Interest Rate Hedging Product claims settled via the FSA Settlement structure.

Shail was instructed with Nicholas Bacon QC in this £3.5m detailed assessment. The assessment took place over 12 days and raised a number of preliminary issues with cross examination of witnesses, including novel issues relating to the assignment of a right to costs and variation of funding agreements.

Acting for the defendant dentist and dental insurer in a long running detailed assessment of a £260k bill, culminating in three days of appeal before HHJ Wood QC where Shail succeeded on various points of principle relating to ‘alternative means of funding’ with the result that all of the claimant’s additional liabilities were disallowed. 

Shail acted for a medical insurer defending costs claims progressed by this well known claimant personal injury firm in the North East. The costs cases attracted widespread press coverage given the very substantial bills of costs presented by claimants in comparison to the amount of damages recovered.

Shail acted for a commercial client against its former solicitors in applications for their time records for the purposes of enforcing costs orders. The case raised various issues surrounding delay in issuing costs proceedings and the documentation a former client is entitled to.

Shail appeared for a firm of financial advisers at a detailed assessment hearing of costs against them. The dispute raised complex issues in relation to recoverability of ATE premiums and other points of principle.

Acting for defendant accountants in a £50m+ conspiracy and negligence claim arising out of a massive fraud on an offshore property fund.

Acting for accountants in substantial group litigation arising from the failure of film and game tax schemes.

Acting for SIPP administrators in a claim by a former premiership footballer in relation to alleged unlawful pensions distributions and transactions.

Acting for the claimant in a claim against accountants for failing to spot a £2m+ fraud on a residential letting business

Successfully defending solicitors against allegations of forgery in relation to a large number of court documents.

Acting at trial and in the CA in this landmark decision regarding the Bowerman duty and the CML Handbook. Click here.

Successfully defending solicitors in a 2 week trial in a case raising many issues in relation to solicitors’ duties.

Acting for a major insurer in a notification dispute in relation to a £6m public liability claim.

acting for insurers in a fire claim brought by an antiques business, defended on grounds of material non-disclosure regarding prior financial circumstances, shadow directorship, and moral hazard.

Acting for the defendant insurer in an insurance claim arising out of an alleged burglary and alleged loss of over £300,000 of jewellery, fine china, leather goods and other valuables.

Acting for the claimant in seeking to recover a business interruption insurance settlement paid out pursuant to fraudulent means and devices used by the owners of a bakery business. All allegations of fraud were denied at trial. Shail acted as sole counsel at trial and following two days of cross examination the Judge found the defendant shown to be “thoroughly dishonest” and gave judgment for the claimant.

Shail appeared as counsel for Aviva in the Court of Appeal successfully resisting the Claimant’s application for an extension of time for appeal. The Court of Appeal accepted Aviva’s submissions that the Claimant had not been candid in the presentation of his application and laid down a principle that a misstatements to the court when applying for an extension would “almost inevitably lead the court to decline to exercise its discretion in favour of a would be appellant regardless of the merits of an appeal”.

Acting for the buildings insurer on appeal to the Court of Appeal in this fraudulent claims/fraudulent means and devices dispute in the context of a £300k insurance claim.

In a £150k claim by a property investment company arising out of a fire at two substantial London properties. The claim is defended inter alia on grounds of suspected fraudulent claims and other irregularities.

In a £150k motor trade policy claim arising out of the alleged firebombing of a prestige vehicle. Claim defending on grounds of breaches of warranty and non disclosure.

Defending a £0.5m claim arising out of the lapsing of a motor insurance policy (and subsequent accident) in circumstances where the insurer’s and broker’s obligations to renew the policy under the relevant wording was unclear. The case also engages issues of construction of the relevant policy documents and points arising under the ICOBS.

A leading case on the meaning of the Law Society’s Standard Conditions of Sale. Shail acted for the vendor bridging finance provider in a dispute over the sale of a stately home, involving issues of construction and allegations of deceit.

Junior in a c. £5m lender claim proceeding in the Chancery Division.