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The vanishing exception?

04 December 2008 / Victor Joffe KC , James Mather
Issue: 7348 / Categories: Features , Commercial
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Part 2: Victor Joffe QC & James Mather continue their refl ections on controversial cases on ability to pay
 

In Giles v Rhind [2003] 1 BCLC 1, [2003] All ER (D) 340 (Oct) the Court of Appeal held that there was an exception to the no reflective loss principle where the defendant had by his own wrongdoing so destroyed or disabled the company that it was unable to pursue its claim against him.

The facts in Giles v Rhind

In breach of his service agreement with the company SHF, D set up a competing company, to which he induced SHF’s major customer to transfer its business. SHF issued proceedings against D, but went into administrative receivership, and was forced to discontinue because it had no funds to provide the security for costs which it was ordered to pay on D’s application.

The claimant, a shareholder in SHF, then brought proceedings against D claiming damages for breach of a shareholders’ agreement to which they were both party. Th e claims included sums

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NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
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