Alastair Tomson

Summary

Alastair Tomson has a litigation focussed practice encompassing disputes relating to companies, insolvency, civil fraud, and financial services, mainly in the High Court but also through international arbitration. Alastair also provides advice in these areas and in addition has developed a specialism in the law relating to bailiffs.

Notable Cases

Examples of the cases in which Alastair has been instructed in include:

• Dane Associates Limited v The Government of the Republic of Rwanda. Currently instructed to act on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Rwanda defending and counterclaiming against a USD 100 million ICC arbitration claim brought by a company alleging that the Government has acted in breach of a long term gas and electricity supply concession (led by Richard Hill). 
• Re Goldcare Group Limited. Representing the Respondents to an unfair prejudice petition concerning the affairs of a company in the residential care / nursing home industry. Listed for a two week trial in Spring 2012. 
• Petrocapital Resources plc v Armstrong et al. Acting for the Claimant in a claim brought by an investment company against some of its former directors (for breach statutory / fiduciary duties, and failure to obtain shareholder approval under section 190 of the Companies Act 2006 for a transaction by the company with its directors) and its former solicitors (for negligence) (led by Justin Fenwick QC).
• Walbrook v Fattal et al. [2010] EWHC 2767 (Ch) (Lewison J). The final reported case in long-running multi-party litigation concerning a property joint-venture held through offshore trusts. Alastair acted for the Claimants between 2008 and 2011 led by four different silks at various points. This judgment concerned the construction of trustee exoneration clauses, the duties of trustees, and the Claimants' unsuccessful late application for amendment (led by Mark Cran QC). The proceedings were settled at trial in early 2011 (where Alastair was led by David Chivers QC), but not before the Claimant had successfully obtained leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal on several aspects of this judgment. 
• In the matter of Frankice (Golders Green) Ltd (In Administration) & Ors [2010] EWHC 1229 (Ch) (Norris J). Acting for the Gambling Commission on the question of whether regulatory action by the Gambling Commission was a "legal process" for the purposes of the Insolvency Act 1986 Sch.B1 para.43(6) (led by George Bompas QC).
• Kuwait Oil Tanker Company SAK v Al Bader et al. Alastair has given advice and acted on behalf of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company in asset recovery and insolvency proceedings concerning persons involved in the fraud on Kuwait Oil Tanker Company SAK (subsequent to the earlier Commercial Court proceedings culminating in the Court of Appeal's decision in Kuwait Oil Tanker Company SAK & Anor v Al Bader & Ors [2000] EWCA Civ 160).
• Serious Organised Crime Agency v Glover et al. (unreported) (Blake J). Acting for the director of the Serious Organised Crime Agency in successful summary judgment application on the first day of trial in recovery proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
• Tekdata Interconnections Limited v Amphenol Limited [2009] EWCA Civ 1209 (Court of Appeal). Alastair represented the Defendant in a successful appeal against a ruling on a preliminary issue as to which party's terms and conditions applied to a contract between them on a "battle of the forms" basis. The Court clarified the scope of Lord Denning MR's dictum in Butler Machine Tool Company v Excell-O Corporation [1979] 1 WLR 401, and the case is now cited as a leading authority in commentaries including Chitty on Contracts. 
• Walbrook v Fattal et al. [2009] EWHC 1446 (Ch) - Application for the appointment of a receiver and manager over property in a disputed (led by David Chivers QC).
• Walbrook v Fattal et al. [2009] EWCA Civ 297 (Court of Appeal) - successful appeal against striking out of case on the principles on abuse of process in Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100 (led by David Chivers QC).
• Gallaher International Ltd v Tlais Enterprises Ltd [2008] EWHC 804: acting for the defendants and counterclaimants in two multi-hundred million pound actions relating to alleged unlawful termination and other breaches of a cigarette distribution agreement, tried together before Mr Justice Christopher Clarke between April and November 2007.

Alastair initially acted in these proceedings as a junior to John Brisby QC and Richard Hill including:

• Gallaher International Ltd v Tlais Enterprises Ltd [2007] EWHC 464: security for costs / suitability of an expert witness.
• Gallaher International Ltd v Tlais Enterprises Ltd [2007] EWHC 527: relief from sanction after non-compliance with an unless order.

For the trial of the actions Alastair was initially instructed as junior to Richard Hill. In September 2007 he was instructed to lead the case for the remainder of the trial which included the examination of expert witnesses and written and oral closing and was praised by Mr Justice Christopher Clarke in his judgment as showing "marked ability".

Further Details of Experience:

Commercial litigation

• Alastair's practice has a significant focus on commercial litigation with experience in a number of areas, including:
• Financial services: instructed as a junior in significant Hong Kong based litigation concerning mis-selling of derivative products, in particular equity linked notes, by two south east Asian banks.
• Joint Ventures: instructed in the Fattal et al. v Walbrook et al. litigation in respect of a significant property joint venture.
• Claims against corporate trustees for breach of trust: separate significant claims against corporate trustees in Fattal et al. v Walbrook et al. litigation.
• Injunctive relief: has significant experience of obtaining and defending commercial injunctions, including freezing orders in particular. Recently successful in a long-running Court action for the discharge of a freezing order, obtaining an indemnity costs order against the Applicants; now acting in wasted costs proceedings against the Applicants' lawyers.

Company law

• Litigation and advice on all aspects of company law.
• Contributor to Annotated Companies Act (Oxford University Press).
• Unfair prejudice petitions: acting for petitioners and respondents.
• Provided advice and transactional support in a major acquisition, including advice on the cancellation of bearer shares.

Insolvency

Corporate insolvency: numerous cases for creditors, debtors and office holders including:

• contested winding-up petitions
• injunctions to restrain presentation or advertisement of winding-up petitions
• validation orders under s.127 of the Insolvency Act 1986. 
• actions on behalf of liquidators to recover company assets including claims against directors under ss.238, 239, 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• examinations under ss.235 / 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
  Personal insolvency: a wide range of instructions for debtors, creditors and office holders including obtaining bankruptcy orders, annulment of bankruptcy orders, and acting in proceedings for possession and sale orders.

Proceeds of Crime

Instructed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in respect of the recovery of proceeds of crime under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Debt recovery and bailiffs

Extensive specialist expertise in representing bailiffs and debt recovery firms in actions brought by debtors including defending applications for injunctive relief, defending bailiffs in Rule 8 complaints hearings, and taxation hearings.

Disciplinary proceedings

Alastair has successfully represented registrants in disciplinary proceedings before The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, including successfully defending from being struck off the register a pharmacist who had misappropriated money from an employer on the basis that her long-standing depressive illness had had a causal effect.

Publications

Contributor to ‘Annotated Companies Acts' (2007, Oxford University Press, ed. Prof. John Birds), and ‘Annotated Companies Legislation' (2010, OUP, ed. Prof. John Birds).

Other

Led the Chancery Bar Association Conference's Company Law Workshop, January 2010.
Regularly gives seminars / lectures to firms of solicitors on insolvency and civil procedure.
Before coming to the Bar Alastair was for six years a director of a consultancy business he co-founded.

Languages

Working knowledge of French; basic German and Bulgarian.

Academic

MA King's College, Cambridge (Archaeology and Anthropology / Social and Political Sciences).
Postgraduate Diploma in Law, University of Birmingham.
BVC Inns of Court School of Law (Outstanding).
Awarded Lord Mansfield, Lord Haldane and Kennedy Scholarships and Buchanan Prize by Lincoln's Inn
Blackstone Chambers Mooting Champion, Inns of Court School of Law.
Allen & Overy Camm Cup Mooting Champion and Lady Barber Prize for Mooting, University of Birmingham.

Professional 

Member of the Commercial Bar Association, Chancery Bar Association, Administrative Law Bar Association and the Bar European Group.