VITOL BAHRAIN EC V NASDEC GENERAL TRADING LLC AND OTHERS

[2013] EWHC 3359 (Comm), Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, Mr Justice Males, 1 November 2013

Jurisdiction - Anti-suit injunction - Application for extension of anti-suit injunction - Cargo of oil said to have been misappropriated - Parallel proceedings in London and Fujairah - Natural forum - Whether vexatious and oppressive conduct

An anti-suit injunction had been granted by Cooke J on 24 May 2013 to restrain the second and third defendants (collectively "FAL Oil") from pursuing any application to join Vitol, the claimant, to proceedings commenced by FAL Oil in Fujairah in the UAE and from making any claim against Vitol in connection with the title to two cargoes of oil other than in the present action. In spite of the anti-suit injunction, Vitol had since been joined to those proceedings. This was its application for the continuation of the injunction in a modified form requiring FAL Oil to take positive steps to extricate it from the Fujairah proceedings. The background was that Vitol had purchased a cargo of oil from Nasdec, the first defendant, under two bills of lading to the order of Nasdec. The cargo was stored by VTTI, Vitol's part-subsidiary's facility in Fujairah, who was the first defendant in the Fujairah proceedings. FAL Oil had commenced those proceedings in which it contended that it was the true owner of the oil, that Nasdec had never had title and that Vitol had therefore not acquired good title. VTTI was only a storage facility and did not claim title. After 11 months, FAL Oil therefore successfully requested to have Vitol joined to the proceedings. Vitol had in the meantime commenced proceedings in London against Nasdec, under warranties given for Nasdec's title to the oil to which English law and jurisdiction applied.