COMPANIA SUD AMERICANA V HIN-PRO INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS LTD

[2014] EWHC 3632 (Comm), Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, Mr Justice Cooke, 14 October 2014

Conflict of laws - Anti-suit injunction - Breach of jurisdiction clause - Exclusive jurisdiction clause - Damages awarded for breach of jurisdiction clause

CSAV sought a permanent anti-suit injunction and damages for alleged breaches of jurisdiction clause against Hin-Pro, a Chinese freight-forwarding company, in respect of litigation in China. Hin-Pro had not participated in these proceedings. The underlying dispute concerned allegations of misdelivery. CSAV had delivered the cargo under the bills of lading in pursuance of the compulsory practice of discharging cargo to the authorised nationalised storage agents at Venezuelan ports, rather than to the named consignee in the straight bills of lading. CSAV said that the actual C&F sellers had been paid in full and that the proceedings were dishonest, although that was not the issue now before the court. Hin-Pro was a freight forwarder, but claimed in multiple Chinese proceedings to be an original ("actual and statutory") party to the bills of lading and had secured judgments for damages from various Chinese courts, with proceedings ongoing in further courts. The Chinese courts had largely disregarded the jurisdiction clauses in the bills of lading. Hin-Pro had been the subject of a sequence of freezing orders by the High Court since November 2012 when CSAV commenced proceedings. The bills of lading contained a clause 23 which provided for English law and High Court jurisdiction, and went on: "If, notwithstanding the foregoing, any proceedings are commenced in another jurisdiction, such proceedings shall be referred to ordinary courts of law. In the case of Chile, arbitrators shall not be competent to deal with any such disputes and proceedings shall be referred to the Chilean Ordinary Courts". The question was whether this amounted to an exclusive jurisdiction clause so that the Chinese proceedings had been pursued in breach thereof.