ADM International SARL v Grain House International SA
[2023] EWHC 135 (Comm)
Sahara Energy Resource Limited v Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas Limited & Ors.
25 November 2022
[2022] EWHC 3285 (Comm)
High Court
A company and its leaders disobeyed court orders. They later paid everything they owed and apologized. The judge forgave them, but made them pay £75,000 to a charity.
Key Facts
- •The applicants (Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas Limited, Alhaji Abdulrahman Bashir, and Adebowale Aderemi) applied to discharge injunction orders and subsequent sanctions for non-compliance.
- •Butcher J previously fined Rahamaniyya £500,000, sentenced Bashir to 10 months imprisonment, and fined Aderemi £10,000.
- •A subsequent application to discharge Butcher J's order was dismissed.
- •The underlying dispute between Rahamaniyya and Sahara Energy Resource Limited went to arbitration, resulting in a substantial award against Rahamaniyya.
- •Rahamaniyya has since paid the arbitration award and Sahara's costs, rendering Sahara 'whole'.
- •Sahara supports the applicants' application to discharge all orders.
- •Bashir offered to pay £75,000 to a pro bono charity as part of the discharge application.
Legal Principles
The court has complete discretion to discharge orders for contempt, allowing a person to 'purge' their contempt.
CPR 81.10(3)
The punitive and coercive elements of sanctions for contempt are not rigid concepts; compliance can mitigate both.
Shalson v Russo [2002] EWHC 399 (Ch), paragraphs [18] and [21]
In civil litigation, the court generally reacts to applications for enforcement of orders by the parties, rather than enforcing them itself.
Various authorities cited in the judgment
Outcomes
The court discharged all injunctions and orders made by Butcher J.
The court considered various factors, including full compliance by Rahamaniyya (including payment of the arbitration award and Sahara's costs), Sahara's support for the application, Bashir's apology, and the overall settlement.
Bashir is to pay £75,000 to the Access to Justice Foundation.
This is a condition of the discharge, reflecting the seriousness of the initial contempt but acknowledging the subsequent remedial actions.