[2024] EWHC 1931 (Comm)

On 9 February 2004, the Claimant (‘Apparel’) obtained a freezing injunction (‘the Order’) against the Defendant (‘Mr Iqbal’). The Order was granted by Mr Justice Knowles CBE following a hearing held in private in which he heard submissions from Mr Rupert Butler (‘Mr Butler’). Mr Butler is head of legal practice at Leverets Advocacy Limited (‘Leverets’), Apparel’s previous solicitors. The judge also had a skeleton argument from Mr Butler and the affidavit of Mr Vanstone-Hallam, a consultant solicitor, at Leverets.

The return date was originally 11 April 2024 but the judge recused herself the day before the hearing so it was stood out of the hearing list. It came before me on 2 July 2024. Counsel for Apparel, Mr Cullen sought the continuation of the Order until trial. Mr Power, counsel for Mr Iqbal, submitted that the Order ought to be set aside because of a failure by Apparel to comply with its duty of full and frank disclosure and that it should not be re-instated or continued.