Andrew Hunter

Andrew has extensive experience in a wide range of substantial commercial cases and regularly appears as sole advocate in trials and interlocutory applications in the Commercial Court, the Court of Appeal and the Chancery Division and Queen’s Bench Division.  His practice covers the full range of general commercial disciplines as well as more specialist areas such as jurisdiction and private international law, commercial arbitration, civil fraud, injunctive litigation, insurance and reinsurance, financial services and commercial judicial review.

Civil Fraud

Andrew has many years’ experience of civil fraud litigation, and has appeared in dozens of Freezing Order and Search Order applications as well as many civil fraud trials.  He acts both for fraud claimants (e.g. banks or large corporations) and for fraud defendants and is currently instructed by a range of City firms. 

General Commercial Cases:

• Masri v Consolidated Contractors Company and ors [2011] EWHC 1780 (Comm)
  Counsel for one of the three respondents in this very substantial international dispute involving multiple allegations of contempt of court and conspiracy to defraud.
• Jones v Environcom Ltd [2010] PNLR 27 (Comm / CA) [2011] EWCA Civ 1152;  [2010] Lloyd’s Rep IR 676
  Counsel for the third party broker in this Commercial Court trial, in which the third party successfully defended a claim for breach of contract and professional negligence. Recently upheld in the Court of Appeal.
• Sibir Energy Plc v Tchigirinsky and others; Slocom v Sibir Energy (Comm / Ch D, ongoing)
  Currently representing the Claimant oil company in this substantial claim in the Commercial Court for recovery of approximately US$400m misappropriated monies.
• Gard Marine and Energy Limited v Tunnicliffe (Comm / CA) [2011] EWHC 1658; [2010] Lloyd’s Rep IR 62; CA
  Counsel for the Claimant in this substantial reinsurance claim in the Commercial Court. The case is reported on a jurisdictional issue concerning the operation of Article 6 of the Lugano Convention (judgment of Hamblen J);  upheld by the Court of Appeal.
• Fulham Football Club (1987) Limited v Premier League and anr (Ch D / CA) [2011] Ch 208
  Junior counsel for the Premier League in this ongoing dispute with Fulham Football club involving issues of arbitration and company law.
• Double G Communications Ltd v News Group International Ltd [2011] EWHC 961 (QB)
  Counsel for the Claimant in this case concerning the breach by News Group Newspapers of a licensing agreement for the use of the “Page 3” brand in board games.
• Inversiones Friera SL v Colyzeo Investors II LP [2011] EWHC 1762 (Ch)
  Counsel for the Defendant, a major international private equity investment fund, in this ongoing dispute between individual investors and the managers of the fund.

Civil Fraud:

• Masri v Consolidated Contractors Company & ors [2011] EWHC 1780 (Comm)
  Counsel for one of the three respondents in this very substantial international dispute involving multiple allegations of contempt of court and conspiracy to defraud.
• Sibir Energy Plc v Tchigirinsky and others; Slocom v Sibir Energy (Comm / Ch D, ongoing)
  Currently representing the Claimant oil company in this substantial claim in the Commercial Court for recovery of approximately US$400m misappropriated monies and in associated litigation.
• Kleanthous v Paphtis and ors [2011] 108(36) LSG 19
  Counsel for the Claimant in this action seeking permission to pursue a substantial fraud claims by means of a derivative action against the directors of a major stationery company
• Bank of Ireland v Pexxnet Ltd and ors [2010] EWHC 1872 (Comm)
  Counsel for the Claimant Bank in this successful fraud claim in the Commercial Court.

Andrew has a long pedigree in insurance and reinsurance going back to well known cases such as Kingscroft and others v Nissan [1999] Lloyds R&IR 603; the Beursgracht [2002] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 574 (CA); [2002] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 602 and [2001] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 608; and Bonner & ors v Cox & ors [2005] Lloyds Rep IR, 569. 

• Jones v Environcom Ltd [2010] PNLR 27 (Comm / CA) [2011] EWCA Civ 1152;  [2010] Lloyd’s Rep IR 676
  Counsel for the third party broker in this Commercial Court trial, in which the third party successfully defended a claim for breach of contract and professional negligence. Recently upheld in the Court of Appeal.
• Gard Marine and Energy Limited v Tunnicliffe (Comm / CA) [2011] EWHC 1658; [2010] Lloyd’s Rep IR 62; CA)
  Counsel for the Claimant reinsured in this substantial reinsurance claim in the Commercial Court.   Following a lengthy jurisdictional dispute in 2010 concerning the operation of Article 6 of the Lugano Convention (judgment of Hamblen J,  upheld by the Court of Appeal), the substantive claim succeeded before Steel J in 2011.
• [Reinsured Confidential] v [Reinsurer Confidential] (international arbitration, 2011)
  Counsel for the reinsured in this substantial reinsurance claim arising out of the destruction of a US naval dockyard by Hurricane Katrina.
• A Lloyd’s Syndicate v X (Comm, 2011 (Teare J))
  Counsel for the claimant insurer, in this application to restrain a former consultant from acting as an expert witness in arbitration proceedings.
• Quanta Reinsurance Limited v Axis Specialty (Lloyds Syndicate 271) (London arbitration, 2009-10)
  Counsel for the Defendant Syndicate in this substantial London reinsurance arbitration concerning the recovery of major Hurricane losses under various reinsurance treaties.  The quantum phase of the arbitration largely concluded in 2010. Details remain private.

Andrew’s experience in this sector stretches back to his secondment as enforcement counsel at the SFA in 1999.  Since then he has regularly acted as both prosecuting counsel (for the FSA and others) and as defence counsel in various regulatory contexts.  He was junior counsel for the FSA in the Splits Capital Investment proceedings in 2005 to 2007 and acted for Royal Dutch Shell in litigation brought against it by the FSA and SEC in 2005-6.  He also acts both for and against banks in a wide variety of other banking and financial disputes.

• FSA v Hobbs and ors (Upper Tribunal, pending (January 2012)
  Counsel for the FSA in this disciplinary case involving allegations of market abuse by a trader in the LIFFE market.
• Scerri v FSA (Upper Tribunal, 25 August 2010)
  Counsel for the FSA in this disciplinary case involving allegations of market abuse by an individual investor in the shares of an oil company. 
• Empresa v Deutsche Bank [2010] 1 All ER (Comm) 649
  Counsel for the Defendant bank in this claim concerning a disputed deposit of US$50 million.
• Bank of Ireland v Pexxnet Ltd and ors [2010] EWHC 1872 (Comm)
  Counsel for the Claimant Bank in this successful fraud claim in the Commercial Court.
• Financial Services Authority v Kuun and others (FSMA Tribunal, September 2009)
  Counsel for the FSA in this reference to the FSMA Tribunal arising out of allegations of serious impropriety by the regulated individual and his company.
• R (on the application of Amro International SA) v Financial Services Authority [2009] EWHC 2242 (Collins J)
  Counsel for a company in this successful challenge to the exercise by the FSA of compulsory investigatory powers under FSMA.
• AIM v Regal Petroleum plc (AIM Disciplinary Tribunal, 2009)
  Appeared for Regal Petroleum in the first contested AIM Disciplinary hearing.  Decision due shortly.

Andrew has experience in a wide variety of domestic and international commercial arbitrations (including LCC, ICC, and LME arbitrations), and also regularly acts in specialist arbitral tribunals such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport.  He also has extensive experience of anti-arbitration injunction applications and other arbitration applications in the Commercial Court.  He co-wrote the Arbitration chapter in Lewis on Sports law, and is a member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

• [Reinsured Confidential] v [Reinsurer Confidential] (international arbitration, 2011)
  Counsel for the reinsured in this substantial reinsurance claim arising out of the destruction of a US naval dockyard by Hurricane Katrina.
• Fulham Football Club v Premier League & ors [2011] EWCA Civ 855’  [2010] EWHC 3111 (Ch)
  Junior Counsel for the Premier League in this case, which included a successful application for a stay of a minority shareholders’ petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996, upheld in the Court of Appeal. 
• A Lloyd’s Syndicate v X (Comm, 2011 (Teare J))
  Counsel for the claimant insurance and reinsurance company, in this application to restrain a former consultant from acting as an expert witness in arbitration proceedings. 
• [Confidential] v [Confidential] (ICC Arbitration 2010 - ongoing)
  Counsel for the Claimant venture capital company in this complex international arbitration concerning an investment in the Bulgarian food and drinks industry.
• Quanta Reinsurance Limited v Axis Specialty (Lloyds Syndicate 271) (London commercial arbitration, 2009)
  Counsel for the Defendant Syndicate in this London reinsurance arbitration concerning the recovery of major Hurricane losses under various reinsurance treaties. 
• Sheffield United Football Club Limited v West Ham United Football Club Plc (Teare J, [2009] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 167; [2008] 2 CLC 741)
  Junior Counsel for Sheffield United in its successful application in the Commercial Court for an anti-arbitration injunction restraining West Ham United from challenging an arbitration award in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Andrew has been ranked in the top tier of junior counsel in this field for many years.  He has acted in a wide variety of commercial and disciplinary cases, including many high profile matters such as the recent "Bloodgate" and "Spygate" affairs in Rugby Union and Formula One.   He acts for regulatory bodies (e.g. the Premier League, the FIA, UK Athletics, and British Cycling); for sports stars (e.g. the England Football Team; various Formula One teams and drivers, and various Premier League footballers); for sports teams (e.g. various Premier League and Formula One Teams); and for sports agents (e.g. the Association of Football Agents).

• FIFA v Bin Hammam (ongoing, Court of Arbitration for Sport)
  Counsel for the Defendant, a former FIFA Vice President, in this ongoing dispute with FIFA arising out of accusations of serious breaches of FIFA’s Code of Ethics.
• Heidfeld v Lotus Renault (2011, Peter Smith J, Chancery Division)
  Counsel for the Defendant Formula One team, successfully defending an action brought against it by one of its drivers who sought specific performance of his driving contract.
• Tennis Integrity Unit v Daniel Kollerer (2011, Disciplinary Hearing)
  Counsel for the Tennis Integrity Unit in this first successful prosecution of a tennis professional for match fixing offences, resulting in a life ban for the defendant 
• Fulham Football Club v Premier League & ors [2010] EWHC 3111 (Ch)
  Junior Counsel for the Premier League in this case, which included a successful application for a stay of a minority shareholders’ petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996. Now pending in the Court of Appeal. 
• The Irish Football Association v the Football Association of Ireland (Court of Arbitration for Sport, 27 September 2010)
  Counsel for the Irish Football Association in this case concerned FIFA’s rules as to the international eligibility of players with dual nationality.
• ERC Limited v Tom Williams and others (aka "Bloodgate") (ERC Appeal Tribunal, August 2009)
  Counsel for the Harlequins rugby player, Tom Williams who was at the centre of the "Bloodgate" scandal in rugby union.  Represented Mr Williams in his successful appeal against the original sanction of a year’s ban from the sport. 

Andrew is ranked by the directories as a leading junior counsel in this sector.  He has acted in a large number of music, video and film cases, both for artists and for record, publishing, and other media companies.

• Double G Communications Ltd v News Group International Ltd [2011] EWHC 961 (QB)
  Counsel for the Claimant in this case concerning the breach by News Group Newspapers of a licensing agreement for the use of the “Page 3” brand in board games.
• Crosstown Music Company LLC v Rive Droite and ors [2011] 2 WLR 779 (CA)
  Counsel for the music publisher, Crosstown, in this substantial litigation concerning the ownership of copyright in 119 classic pop songs from the 1990s.  Mann J gave judgment substantially for the Defendants. The judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal in December 2010.
• Taylor v Le Bon and others (Chancery Division, 2010)
  Counsel for Andrew Taylor, the former guitarist of Duran Duran in an ongoing dispute with the other band members, including as to entitlement to rights in the name “Duran Duran”.   
• TAM v Universal Music (Chancery Division, trial in 2010)
  Counsel for Universal, in this dispute with the Russian pop group “Tatu”.  

VAT registration number:  646167228