Christopher acts for businesses in cases concerning all aspects of commercial and contract disputes, including sale of goods and services, restraint of trade, insolvency, partnership disputes and applications for interim relief. Recent examples of Christopher’s work include:
- A claim for partner of a family farming partnership, seeking dissolution accounts and consequential orders.
- Advising in connection with a failed joint venture agreement.
- Acting for a company and its directors resisting a freezing order.
- Acting for a company served with a search order.
- A successful claim by the receiver of a partnership seeking substantial rent arrears under a commercial lease and defending a counterclaim alleging breach of a director’s fiduciary duties in respect of the historic rent reviews and seeking compensation for tenant’s improvements.
- A successful claim by a rapeseed oil cooperative for unpaid invoices and in the process defeating a counterclaim alleging that the winter rapeseed failed through inherent defect rendering it not fit for purpose as a winter hardy variety.
- Bray (t/a the Building Company) v Bishop & Anor [2009] EWCA Civ 768 – Court of Appeal case dealing with the approach a court should adopt with regard to costs when the parties havecompromised all other matters save for costs
- Hinch v Castlehouse Care Home (2013) – acted for the vendors of a care home business where it was alleged that there had been misrepresentations and/or breaches of warranty in the sale of the shares, who sued for unpaid retention monies.
- Countrywide Farms PLC v Goldstone Eggs (2013) – Christopher successfully represented a national feed supplier in defence to a claim for the supply of defective poultry feed.
- Grimes v Trustees of the Essex Farmers & Union Hunt [2017] EWCA Civ 361 – appeal to the Court of Appeal regarding the correct approach to construing a clause within a lease
Christopher also acts for and advises partners in cases which include disputes over dissolution, accounts and breach of duty. Christopher has a particular expertise in acting for partners of farming partnerships, legal and accountancy firms. Recently Christopher has advised and represented a receiver and manager appointed to deal with the complex property holding and letting arrangements of a partnership where the partners gave vying accounts.
Christopher is a qualified mediator and can be instructed to mediate commercial disputes.
