The SKAT case is one of the biggest civil litigation claims before the English court. Mark that—was.
In a huge decision, the entire multi-billion pound matter has been disposed of at the first opportunity by the court.
The claims—SKAT is short for Skatteforvaltningen, the Danish Customs and Tax Administration—had been brought as part of a wide-reaching pursuit to recover circa £1.5bn lost in 2012 to 2015 to dividend tax reclaims SKAT alleged it was not liable to pay.
Its various causes of action—against more than 100 defendants in total—included allegations of fraud, negligent participation and negligent misstatement.
The litigation was so vast, the trial was anticipated to last more than a year. Two mini-trials to address preliminary issues that would subsequently inform the main proceedings were themselves on the scale of serious High Court litigation.
It is the first of such mini-trials that has given rise to the decision of Mr Justice Andrew Baker: to dismiss all of the claims in one go.
What
