The Hong Kong Court Of Appeal To Clarify Application Of Guy Lam In Arbitration In Upcoming Appeals.

November 7, 2023 by Rohin Pujari

By way of an update to the series of recent Court of First Instance decisions on whether a winding up petition ought to be stayed where the underlying dispute is governed by an arbitration clause, Harris J has very recently granted the Petitioner in Re Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Ltd [2023] HKCFI 2731 leave to appeal.

Notably, Harris J commented that it is highly undesirable to have a number of conflicting Court of First Instance decisions on the same issue (which we have discussed in our blog posts on Lasmos, Simplicity, Shandong Chenming and Inversion Productions) and it would be desirable to have clarity from the higher Courts in this regard.

The appeal of Shandong Chenming may be heard together with Re Simplicity, where our firm successfully acted for the petitioning creditor. Stay tuned for a further update on this in due course.

WRITTEN BY

Herbert Smith Freehills

For further information, please contact:

Gareth Thomas – Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
gareth.thomas@hsf.com

Gareth is a commercial and insurance litigator with wide-ranging experience in disputes, arbitration and mediation matters.

EXPERIENCE

Gareth’s expertise in dispute matters covers banking, financial services, commercial contracts, joint venture and shareholder disputes, defamation, employment, fraud, insolvency, negligence, product liability, insurance and reinsurance, as well as cases involving bonds, structured products and other derivatives. He also advises on private client related matters, including family and probate disputes. Gareth also advises clients on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious international insurance and reinsurance law and practice.

Gareth has contributed to numerous publications, and is or has been a co-author of Hong Kong Civil Procedure, Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong – Insurance, Chitty on Contracts (Hong Kong), and Hong Kong Law of Insurance. He regularly lectures to lawyers and industry bodies on a wide range of topics.

Gareth’s experience includes advising on:

successful defence banks in relation to allegations of unauthorised trading and mis-selling
successful defence of Standard Chartered in relation to a mis-selling claim of an investment in a feeder fund to the Madoff Ponzi scheme
successful defence of Oaktree and Silverpoint in a US$2.58 billion shareholder dispute concerning the Studio City casino and resort in Macau
successful claim of the Liquidators of Lehman Brothers Asia entities for a reduction in the ad valorem fees payable to the Hong Kong Official Receiver
successful defence of Barclays Capital in relation to multiple employment claims

ACCOLADES

Leading individual for Dispute Resolution: Litigation, China/Hong Kong
Chambers Asia Pacific 2010, 2012-2017

Leading individual for Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Hong Kong
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2010-2017

Leading individual for Insurance (Contentious), China/Hong Kong
Chambers Asia Pacific 2010-2017

Leading individual for Employment, China/Hong Kong
Chambers Asia Pacific 2012-2017

“Gareth Thomas is recognised for his long-standing experience handling commercial litigation in Hong Kong. His broad practice covers banking, contract and securities disputes. Market commentators describe him as ‘very thorough, intelligent and quick to respond.'”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2017

“Gareth Thomas is highly regarded by his peers, and is known for his insurance-related litigation practice. He possesses significant experience and advises major clients on a range of contentious matters. Clients single him out as ‘a really smart lawyer with a great depth of knowledge and good strategic ability,’ while also homing in on his ‘very good ability to pull everything together.'”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2017

“Of the highest calibre – both knowledgeable and practical”
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2017

“Gareth Thomas is absolutely brilliant, I can’t speak highly enough of him. He is forthright in his litigation strategy and is really good at predicting outcomes.”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2016

“Gareth Thomas is hands-on, not afraid of making difficult decisions and an expert in both general commercial and insurance litigation.”
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2016

“Head of commercial litigation Gareth Thomas impresses with his approach, as sources note that he is ‘calm and measured with a strategically sound technique to litigation. A safe pair of hands that clients can have confidence in.’ He is similarly recognised for his specialist ability in large-scale disputes for banks and financial institutions: ‘When we get into the sharper-end, super-sensitive issues, Gareth’s experience comes through.'”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2015

“Gareth Thomas is very available for ad hoc queries and shows a commercial awareness beyond the letter of the law.”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2015

“A pleasure to work with”
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2015

BACKGROUND

Gareth trained with the firm in London and practiced as a solicitor there for 5 years, before moving to Hong Kong in 1998. He became a partner in 2000.

KEY SERVICES

Commercial Litigation

Dispute Resolution

Cyber and Data Security

Employment Litigation

Defamation

KEY SECTORS

Financial Institutions

Financial Buyers

Sports Disputes

Banks