Striking Out Cases In The Royal Court

In recent years, the Royal Court has adopted a more active approach to case management. The power of the Royal Court to strike out cases remains one of the most draconian judicial weapons available. In the recent case of Eckman v. Sidem International Limited and Others (Unreported Judgment 2 June 2009), in which this firm acted, the Royal Court considered the principles to be applied.

Pauline Action

The plaintiff brought a claim against a company and one of its directors (the second defendant) seeking by way of a Pauline action the enforcement of previous judgment debts against the company totalling over US$1.4 million. The second defendant himself was not a judgment debtor but the plaintiff alleged that he had transferred funds from the company to third parties between 1996 and 2000 with the intention of preventing such funds being used to satisfy the outstanding judgment debts.