Plantation A Legal Thriller

by J M S Macfarlane

  Chapter 47

  While Stuart Grant was giving his evidence in court fourteen, on the floor below in the High Court building, in a room off the Bear Garden, Vincent Wheeler, Caspian’s solicitor, was busy explaining the urgent need for a freezing Order against all of Plantation’s bank accounts and assets.

  It was highly unusual for the court to make this type of Order without hearing from whoever was going to be affected by it. Wheeler had kept Ashby in the dark in order to take Plantation by surprise – the effect of this would force Ashby to pay Caspian – at least, that was the plan.

  Wheeler was an avid reader of the insurance publication Underwriting News and also the business press. Every day he took claims managers and brokers to lunch and picked up the market gossip. Everyone purported to know about Stirling and Nigel Black and that Plantation was falling apart, the way things were going.

  Wheeler was of a naturally suspicious nature and had disposed of several rivals in his firm who were seeking more equity or to become head of litigation : he enjoyed manipulating and controlling people.

  From what he’d read about Black, he thought it was likely that Plantation was moving money out of the country to prevent Caspian and its other creditors from being paid if their claims were successful. He wanted to head that off by asking the court for a hearing at short notice. The ‘truth’ underlying his suspicions was sworn in a pile of affidavits.

  There were always a number of judges ready to hear these types of short cases. On that particular day, the clerk of the court had cleared the decks for an old, snowy-haired judge who had nothing much in his diary.

  After allowing the judge half an hour to look over the paperwork, Wheeler and his cohort of clerks and assistants were shown in.

  “I see that you have sworn four separate affidavits, Mr Wheeler. Does Plantation Re know what you’ve said in them ?”

  “No, my Lord, due to the risk that they could dissipate the funds in their bank accounts and sell their other assets, we’ve not advised them of this hearing in front of your Lordship today.”

  “I see, I see. You do realise that by seeking this type of Order at short notice – which could have a very serious effect on Plantation’s business – and without allowing them to put their side of the story, you’re making certain undertakings to the court – to me – in other words, you’re guaranteeing that the events you’ve described in your affidavits are ‘true and complete in every particular’. Isn’t that the phrase in the Supreme Court Rules ? Where’s my White Book ?” And he began thumbing through the well-known tome which was the size of a doorstep. “Otherwise, if it turns out that what you have said is untrue and the court has been misled as to the true situation, then you and your firm will answer for the consequences, both personally and professionally, won’t you ? I do find that in many cases such as this, people are not in full possession of the facts at the time and come to regret shooting from the hip rather than waiting and hearing what their opponent has to say.”

  “I realise that my Lord, however in order to protect my clients, I have had no alternative but to take the action which I have done today.”

  “Your clients are a company owned by “the Finance Ministry of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,” said the judge, reading from the affidavits with raised eyebrows. “The Soviet Union ? Can that really be the case ?” He looked up at Wheeler over his half-moon spectacles.

  “Yes, that is correct, my Lord.”

  “I wasn't aware that the Soviet Union litigated in this country or even that it was engaged in any commercial enterprise for profit, anywhere in the world. Doesn’t Communist ideology explicitly forbid that ?”

  “Caspian are a limited company incorporated in England and Wales, my Lord and have been operating in this country as an insurer and reinsurer since 1934. The Soviet Union needs trade insurance in order to deal with the West.”

  The judge pondered for a few moments and looked in a dissatisfied way at the papers before him. “Yes, well, be that as it may, I have read your affidavits and I have to say that I am disturbed by some of the allegations which have been made. Many are unsubstantiated and there is little in the way of evidence. How do you explain that ?”

  By this time, Wheeler was thinking to himself that the judge was an old fool who should have been put out to pasture and retired from the bench long ago. He was annoyed that all of these futile questions were holding up the Order being circulated to Plantation’s banks and investment houses the same day – he wanted to steal a march on Ashby. The way things were going, he’d be lucky to get out of the court building before it closed.

  Wheeler had no alternative than to go through each of the judge’s concerns in the affidavits one by one. He gave the judge cast-iron assurances that from the information he had, Plantation was definitely about to realise its assets and empty its bank accounts. However, the judge remained unconvinced.

  “Mr Wheeler, Plantation is one of the largest insurers at the London Risk Exchange. From my own knowledge, they’ve been around for decades. They are not some fly-by-night operation. Their reputation is their stock in trade. What you’re proposing could damage their business irreparably.” (The judge knew about the insurance market because his brother invested in a number of syndicates for tax advantages.)

  “My Lord, all of the recent press reports say that Plantation is about to collapse. At this very moment, they are defending a claim by a shipowner for around twenty million pounds in one of the courts upstairs. From my information, they have that money at the moment but if they lose the case and have to pay, it might push them over the edge. They do have other companies overseas and if the main company here looks like going under, they will be tempted to transfer the money out of the country to another company unaffected by the bankruptcy here. If that happens, my clients will lose any hope of their claim being paid under their policy with Plantation.”

  The judge summed up that he was reluctant to condone the ploy being sprung on Ashby and proposed sending Wheeler away empty-handed. Just then, the door to the chambers opened and a clerk crept in with some papers in his hand. Wheeler quickly scanned them.

  “My Lord, these are Plantation’s latest accounts. As you can see, funds are already being transferred to their other companies in order to avoid the claims which are overwhelming them.”

  “Where did you get this ?” said the judge as he thumbed through the spreadsheet which was on Plantation’s headed notepaper : the main accounts had been signed by its chartered accountants and chief financial officer.

  “I wrote directly to the company’s finance director yesterday and this is what he sent me at lunchtime today.”

  “And what was the finance director’s explanation for the transfers ?”

  “He gave none, my Lord.”

  “Well, this may put a different complexion on the matter but did Plantation’s managing director, Robert Ashby approve these accounts and the transfers they indicate ? Was he asked about them ? I’ve seen the letters which you wrote to him personally.”

  “He didn’t respond to my letters or phone calls, my Lord but he must have known about the transfers – the finance director would have been powerless to make them on his own.”

  “Yes, I see. You may be right. Well, on the guarantees and undertakings which you and your firm have given to the court, Mr Wheeler, I will make the Order requested by you, returnable here before me within the next 7 days, so that Plantation has an opportunity of answering what you have said. In the meantime, all of Plantation’s financial assets will remain where they are and not be accessible by the company.”