Dominic Regan considers a case that blurred the line between fiction & reality
There has never been a case remotely like it, ever. What follows is true. Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf (Bahamas) Ltd v Symphony Gems NV [2014] EWHC 3777 (Comm), [2014] All ER (D) 222 (Nov) concerned real litigation and remarkably, pretend litigation too.
The claimant obtained summary judgment against the second defendant, RM, for a tad over $10m back in 2002. Not a penny has been paid. The defendant with sublime elegance bobbed and weaved, securing adjournment after adjournment of all enforcement measures. Six years on in 2008 the High Court concluded that the contempt was contumacious and a hefty period of committal was the only medicine that would work.
Enter Mr Andrew Benson, a partner in a law firm. I should say at the outset that there is no suggestion of his antics being motivated by personal gain or profit. The partnership was unaware of his actions.That rather makes his activities even more opaque. I cannot better the summary given by Hamblen J of the audacious steps taken by Benson:
