Recognition First: BVI Court Follows Drelle

The BVI Commercial Court has followed the English Court of Appeal decision in Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle [2025] EWCA Civ 62, holding that an unrecognised foreign court judgment cannot found insolvency proceedings.

Maples and Calder represented JJW Hotels & Resorts Holding Inc in these proceedings.

Introduction

In JJW Hotels & Resorts Holding Inc v Rhodes and Another as joint liquidators of JJW Limited (in liquidation) (BVIHC (COM) 2025/0296) (“JJW Hotels“), the BVI Commercial Court (the “Court”) followed the English Court of Appeal’s decision in Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle [2025] EWCA Civ 62 (“Drelle“) and set aside a statutory demand on the basis that an unrecognised foreign court judgment cannot found insolvency proceedings in the BVI. The judgment, delivered by the Honourable Justice Mithani KC (Ag), represents the first reported occasion on which a BVI court has addressed the interrelationship between insolvency law and private international law in this context, and provides