Colin David Russ > Marlow, England > Firm Profile

Notable Cases

Colin Russ – Mediators UK-wide, Top Tier Legal 500 UK Guide 2019 

Notable Case 1:  

Mediation of complex contractual dispute where the parties were a well-known global manufacturer/retailer and their worldwide logistics supplier whose long-standing contract had been terminated at short notice. There were numerous contractual claims and counter-claims, many relating to the calculation of invoices rendered over 

a period of years. A settlement was achieved saving trial costs, which were budgeted to exceed £2m. 

Notable Case 2:  

Mediation of a construction dispute arising out of the development of an airfield for use as a pipe storage yard where the issues involved allegations of major construction defects leading to extensive and hugely expensive remedial works and consequential losses. £5.5m had been spent on remedial works and it was claimed that a further £2m of additional expenditure was required. A creative negotiated settlement was achieved which provided for payment of a much-reduced sum, over an extended period.  

Notable Case 3:  

Mediation of a dispute between a University and Premiership Football Club where the dispute related to whether the underlease could be validly terminated by the football club and also involved complex political and PR issues.  

The mediation became extremely protracted and involved orchestrating a series of commercial discussions with clearly defined agendas through which progress was ultimately made. By 4.00am, after 18 hours of mediation, an ‘in principle’ agreement had been reached which essentially revolved around an agreement to vary the underlease in a number of key areas. This was subsequently documented over the following days during which Colin remained involved to assist with bringing the matter to a conclusion. As well as achieving resolution of a difficult and politically sensitive dispute, potential very adverse publicity for both parties was avoided. 

Notable Case 4:  

Interest Rate Hedging Product (IRHP) mediation involving the alleged mis-selling of IRHPs by high street banks. As with many of these claims there was a backdrop of media interest. Following a succession of different types of meetings – full meetings of clients and lawyers, client only (with mediator) meetings and lawyer-to-lawyer meetings, a settlement was agreed and signed up to. The claim compromised had a headline value of several million pounds and costs of over £1m were saved as a consequence of the settlement. 

Notable Case 5:  

Multi-party mediation where the dispute related to major structural problems in the steel frame of 5 car showrooms erected in the different parts of the UK for a major automobile sales network and involving a premium car manufacturer. In one case, catastrophic failure of the showroom structure had occurred and fatalities had been only narrowly avoided. Extensive rebuilding and remedial works were required across all sites and the costs of these, together with a business interruption losses, were sought. The total claims were for in excess of £60m. The mediation involved consideration of complex contractual issues, expert evidence going to causation and two mediations within one as the structural engineer and fabricator sought to blame each other. Ultimately, an agreement was reached between the structural engineers and fabricator which then facilitated an agreement with the main contractor. The agreements were entered into on the day after a 15-hour mediation process. Very significant costs had already been incurred, however, the savings in future costs up to and including to trial amounted to circa £2.5m. 

Notable Case 6:  

6-party professional negligence claim where the mediation involved a large number of professional negligence claims brought by the purchasers of off-plan leasehold properties (rooms in hotel and student accommodation developments) against their former solicitors. Substantial deposits had been paid by the purchasers which meant 

that if the developers were fraudulent (as proved to be the case) the losses would be very significant. The company behind the deposit protection bond was part of the scam and hence the deposits were lost in their entirety. There were several hundred individual claimants who fell into different groups with different factual and legal claims (covering 6 separate developments) and were represented by 4 separate claimant firms. The defendant Solicitors were separately represented as were their insurers. Issues included causation, limitation, loss of a chance, aggregation and quantum. After an 11-hour, mediation various settlement agreements were ultimately entered into to bring all claims to an end. The claims had totalled well in excess £10m and the costs to trial would have exceeded £2m.