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The marine dispute:

Imagine, if you will, that you are involved in a company incorporated in Singapore.  You have lent a considerable sum of money to a Dubai based entity who has invested the sum in shipbuilding contracts.  A corporate restructuring in Dubai later and the loan agreement comes to an end with the debt remaining unpaid. Unsurprisingly, a dispute arises. Proceedings are issued under English & Welsh law in which you seek to claim the outstanding sum, interest due, as well as your legal costs.

The case has everything – conflict of laws and jurisdictions, applications for injunctions and committal proceedings against the directors when they don’t comply, security for costs, applications to the Court of Appeal, issues over whether the directors had ostensible authority to bind the limited companies to pay, serious question marks over when the contract was formed (notwithstanding the date), extensive applications for E-disclosure and finally, an order for the disputed sums to be paid into Court pending the eventual outcome of the litigation.

The need for Funding:

The problem is that you haven’t the funds to pursue the claim or the wherewithal to pay if you lose, and therefore require both litigation funding and After the Event insurance in order to ensure access to justice.

This scenario closely resembles a case QLP recently insured under its marine binder – that is, our exclusive facility offering dedicated ATE insurance policies for marine claims.  The policy provided a £250,000 Limit of Indemnity (with early settlement discounts applicable to the Premium) to cover Adverse Costs, Counsel’s fees and own disbursements, giving the claimant the confidence to pursue their claim (to trial if necessary).

With cover in place, we were then able to provide access to the Third Party funding required for the claim to progress.  Indeed, having approached the market, we put together a deal for the required £400,000 of Funding at the most competitive rate available – 30% of the claim revenue.