OPENING THE GATEWAYS AGAINST CROSS-BORDER FRAUD
Victims of fraud are not powerless and the potential for recourse has been strengthened in recent years by revisions made to Practice Direction 6B (PD6B) of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The amendments, enacted in October 2022, extended and introduced new jurisdictional gateways making it easier for claimants to obtain permission to serve claims and applications outside the jurisdiction.
One of the more significant of these changes related to the introduction of a new gateway specifically for third party disclosure claims (such as Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust orders): Gateway 25. This gateway enables victims of fraud to obtain information from outside the UK which, in turn, may assist with bringing a claim against the ultimate wrongdoers.
The new and improved gateways, and in particular Gateway 25, were welcomed by fraud practitioners. But, as always, it takes time for such changes to bed in and recent cases have highlighted how best to make use of Gateway 25.
Opening the gateways
While Gateway 25 has garnered much attention, other changes to PD6B have permitted service of claims for breach of trust or fiduciary duty where the breach is committed or likely to be committed within the jurisdiction or where such claims are governed by English and Welsh law. Claims against third parties for unlawfully causing or assisting in breaches of contract, trust, fiduciary duty or confidence where there is sufficient connection to the jurisdiction are also easier to serve out. There is also a new gateway for the service out of a contempt of court application.
Apr-Jun 2024 issue
Greenberg Traurig, LLP