Case No. CL-2019-000290

3.Mr Buckingham founded Heritage, an oil production and exploration company incorporated in Jersey. It was listed on the LSE. In 2014, EIGL (a company beneficially owned by Sheikh Hamad, the former prime minister of Qatar) acquired 80% of the share capital of Heritage and took the company private. The other 20% remained owned by Albion, a Guernsey company beneficially owned by Mr Buckingham. 4.On 31 January 2018, Albion agreed to sell its remaining 20% interest in Heritage to EIGL on the terms of the SpA for the sum of $100m. There were six parties to the SpA, which contained other provisions beyond the sale transaction. In addition to Albion and EIGL, Heritage, Mr Buckingham, a company called Albion Resources and a company called Sundance Investments Ltd (“Sundance”) were also parties. 5.The first two instalments under the SpA were paid by EIGL. However, shortly before the final instalment became due on 20 December 2018, Macfarlanes LLP, on behalf of Heritage, wrote to Albion on 14 December 2018 asserting claims against Mr Buckingham. By a second letter of the same date, Macfarlanes LLP wrote to Albion on behalf of EIGL saying that in view of Heritage’s claims against Mr Buckingham, EIGL intended to withhold payment of the outstanding amount payable under the SpA. However, there was no suggestion at this stage that the matters raised in Macfarlanes LLP’s correspondence gave EIGL its own claim against Albion. On 15 December 2018, solicitors acting for Albion pointed out that any claims which Heritage might claim to have could not provide a legitimate reason for EIGL to withhold the final instalment of the purchase price due to Albion. In response, on 17 December 2018, Macfarlanes LLP suggested for the first time that the matters raised were capable of supporting a petition for unfair prejudice which could give EIGL a claim against Albion. 6.Solicitors’ correspondence followed in which EIGL agreed to pay $20m of the outstanding instalment unconditionally, with the remaining $13.3m (“the Escrow Amount”) to be held by Albion’s solicitors on the terms of an escrow agreement dated 22 January 2019 (“the Escrow Agreement”). 7.Albion has now brought proceedings and seeks summary judgment for the outstanding amount of $13.3m. In response EIGL seeks a stay of the proceedings, relying for this purpose on the arbitration clause in the Escrow Agreement. Alternatively, EIGL contends that Albion is not entitled to summary judgment because EIGL has a defence with a realistic prospect of success, namely an equitable set-off arising from EIGL’s claim for relief for unfair prejudice against Albion. EIGL also contends that these proceedings should be stayed under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court pending the determination of EIGL’s unfair prejudice claim in proceedings to be commenced in Jersey. 8.Logically, the issue which falls to be determined first is EIGL’s application for a stay under s.9. If that application succeeds, then the merits of Albion’s claim, and whether there is any defence to it, are matters for the arbitrators, and it would not be desirable for the Court to say anything about them.