Case by Case

Case by Case

By Floyd ZadkovichBusiness
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Case by Case episodes

  • #25 Did someone turn the lights off?

    We're back from a brief break with a fresh episode of Case by Case. This time Luke and Calum review London Arbitration 16/22.

    No - the analogy is not about the lights being turned off and on our podcast series. We are looking at vessel blackouts causing off-hire under a charterparty. A topic we know well from other cases we've handled recently. In addition to off-hire, our chat also touches on redelivery, notice under early termination clause and repudiatory breach.

    Listen in over the coming weeks and months, as we work our way through a fascinating bunch of cases and catch up with new guests.


    If you have a special case you'd like us to discuss, let us know - happy to receive suggestions and feedback anytime.

    24 min
  • #24 Silver Base Jumping in the Cayman Islands

    Calum and Luke have been wanting to share this episode for a while now. It was great to catch up with Ben Hobden of Forbes Hare - a leading and highly regarded restructuring and insolvency lawyer in the Cayman Islands. Here it is:


    Administration and insolvency proceedings are on the rise. This was before the horrific events in Eastern Europe of the past week, which have caused major turmoil on global markets and remain front of mind for us all. Of course, the pandemic had a significant impact on a variety of businesses, and not uniformly so. Some businesses have benefitted and many have not. This plays into the rising prominence of administration and insolvency law, globally.

    Ben takes us through the recent decisions in the Silver Base matter. This shines a spotlight on administrative proceedings in the Cayman Islands, the interaction with the Hong Kong jurisdiction, questions of comity, and how the Cayman Islands is viewed as a serious jurisdiction of choice for incorporation, with a robust legal system. The nuance involved in the judgment, which we discuss, is evidence of this.

    These decisions also provide an excellent platform to look at new upcoming legislative changes in the Cayman Islands. Those changes should provide greater certainty to parties, creditors and other stakeholders looking to this jurisdiction.

    Ben - thank you very much for your time and getting involved in Case by Case. Really enjoyed catching up with you!

    Read more about Ben here: https://forbeshare.com/team/ben-hobden-partner-litigation-and-insolvency-forbes-hare-cayman-islands/

    37 min
  • #23 Case by Case: LIVE at the SMA!

    Yes, that’s right - we recorded our first live podcast episode to an audience! And what an exceptional audience it was. The luncheon was put on by the Society of Maritime Arbitrators, New York, and we were very fortunate to speak with approximately 40 leading US maritime arbitrators and counsel at the event.


    We took the recent English Court of Appeal decision in the Eternal Bliss to the US. Literally and theoretically.

    The episode explores whether demurrage covers all kinds of losses arising from a breach of laytime. It’s a one breach / two losses case. Not as simple as it sounds. Indeed, Calum and Luke saw this one somewhat differently.

    We rounded off by examining how this type of case may rest within the demurrage landscape of US maritime law. There are notable distinctions and similarities in the comparison.

    Thank you very much to the SMA for the invitation, and in particular to Molly McCafferty, member of the SMA Board of Governors, and LeRoy Lambert, President of the SMA for their kind introductions and words.

    I suppose all that is left to say is that Case by Case is now formally accepting invitations for live speaking slots!

    38 min
  • #22 Adedoyin Afun, on the Nigerian Jurisdiction for an Arrest over Unpaid Crew Wages

    For the first time, we welcome an external colleague onto the show. Among many accolades and prestigious awards, Ade is a highly-respected Nigerian lawyer, with an expertise in maritime disputes.

    Ade joins Luke and Calum on today's episode to discuss a recent decision in the Nigerian Courts, the effect of which appears to constrain the ability of the Nigerian Courts to give an order for a vessel arrest in respect of unpaid crew wages. Good news for Owners - but a decision that would make the Nigerian Court system a real outlier.

    This conversation discusses issues of constitutional law and the problems that can arise where a codified constitution comes into conflict with a historical right of arrest.

    Ade's profile can be found here: https://www.bloomfield-law.com/our-people/adedoyin-afun

    35 min
  • #21 A Classic Case of "Who Dunnage?"

    Luke and Calum review London Arbitration 5/22 - A decision which looks at issues involving mitigation, remoteness and correctly particularising a damages claim.

    During the podcast, Calum references Court of Appeal obiter comments, which deal with a potentially large claim for failure to re-deliver a vessel on time. The case is The Achilleas, and the citation is: Transfield Shipping v. Mercator Shipping (The Achilleas) [2007] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 555 (C.A.). The relevant passage is Rix LJ's comments at Para 122 and is set out below:

    As for illegitimate voyages, it seems to me that special considerations may arise here, but they have not been the subject of any debate before us, and I would be cautious about expressing any opinion. I would merely mention the possibility that an illegitimate voyage, being outside the contract and, if insisted upon, an anticipatory breach in repudiation of it (The Gregos), may amount in effect to a form of new offer: so that, if an owner in response says "No, but I warn you that I have fixed the vessel for a new charter, and if you insist on the voyage and I perform it, not waiving my right to damages, and I lose my new fixture, I will look to you for compensation", it is not impossible that, albeit late in the day, the charterer will be fixed with knowledge of the new charter (see Mr Gross QC arguendo in The Gregos in the Court of Appeal at [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 335 at page 345, albeit cf Scrutton’s comment at page 349 at footnote 11). That is not very different from what the parties agreed in The Gregos.

    24 min
  • #20 The Curious Case of Novak Djokovic

    The leading sports news story of 2022 has been a legal one. Novak Djokovic has run the full gamut of the Australian immigration system. First he had a visa, then he was put into detention, then he was released, before finally the Australian Government revoked the visa and sent him home.

    In this episode of case by case, Luke and Calum look at the final decision of the Federal Court, by which Djokovic was unceremoniously booted out of the country.

    A fair result for someone who clearly didn't want to play by the rules?

    A misapplication of the law?

    Or a legal system designed to constrain the judiciary on matters of immigration and put all possible power in the hands of the Government?

    This episode makes for an interesting look at the law behind the news.

    39 min
  • #19 Tinkler, Tailors law on estoppel by convention

    At the risk of interrupting the Eternal Bliss buzz from the English Court of Appeal today (more on that next episode), we are very pleased to share our latest CxC, featuring special guest, Aiden Lerc. Aiden is one of our star associates, based in London. Aiden is completing a PhD at University of Oxford on a Clarendon Scholarship, and working part time with Floyd Zadkovich. Aiden and Luke are both proud alumni of University of Wollongong. Now, who doesn't like a technicality?! Isn't that what all lawyers for look? And especially in tax cases... Well we've got a beauty for you today - a recent UK Supreme Court case: Tinkler v HMRC [2021] UKSC 39.The legal principles centre around estoppel by convention. That is should a party be prevented from arguing a point due to how they have acted. Factually, the alleged 'technicality' involves proper service of the HMRC's trigger for a tax enquiry and conduct in response.

    Thanks for listening! Share the podcast with those who you think would be interested and follow to be notified of all new episodes.

    37 min
  • #18 Stop Press! Supreme Court hands down judgment in the CMA CGM LIBRA

    Judgment in the CMA CGM Libra has been handed down yesterday by the Supreme Court. The result is that negligent passage planning can render a vessel “unseaworthy”, and liability for that unseaworthiness is not covered by the Article IV Rule 2 exception for errors in navigation.


    The Court carried out a detailed and comprehensive review of a number of established precedents. In doing so, the Court also rejected Owners’ arguments that there was a need for an “Attribute Threshold” (where there must be an identifiable “attribute” that is defective to cause the unseaworthiness).

    Finally, the Court agreed that the “prudent owner” test was not the sole test for unseaworthiness. While that test remains very important, the Court noted that the unseaworthiness must also go to the vessel’s ability safely to carry out the contracted voyage. That is in line with authorities including The Aquacharm, where an issue that a prudent owner would clearly seek to rectify was not sufficient to amount to unseaworthiness (in the case of The Aquacharm, overstowage preventing a vessel passing through the Panama Canal).

    Luke and Calum discuss this significant Supreme Court judgment on a critical area of maritime law.

    44 min
  • #17 Who gets the last shot... of whiskey?

    Luke and Calum welcome special guest, Lucy Noble, one of FZ’s London based Associates, to recap a battle of the forms judgment. Handed down only last week by the English Court of Appeal.Lucy has made an excellent start with Floyd Zadkovich, handling an array of commodities/shipping/commercial matters, and is currently on a short term secondment at an energy trading company.We also touched on a - or THE key classic ‘battle of the forms’ case, involving delivery of whiskey and a caveated stamp.These cases throw up all sorts of warfare analogies - rightly or wrongly. Makes for an interesting discussion.Substantively this new case of TRW v Panasonic [2021] EWCA Civ 1558 confirms an important exception to the last shot principle.We also compare the English approach to battle of the forms cases with the US approach.Thanks for listening!

    29 min
  • #16 "And the Nominations are..." - when an option taken gets written in

    ...when an option taken gets written in.


    Sometimes episodes take unexpected turns. That's the fun of it. The format is simple. Calum and Luke pick a legal case, read it separately, turn on record, and talk. No pre-planning or even chat about what we are going to discuss. Where it goes is anyone's guess.

    What started as an examination of nominations in London Arbitration 20/21 led into a wider discussion of options and elections. We even got onto redelivery notices.

    When does a nomination become written into a contract once made? When does it not? What parallels are there with other similar circumstances?

    If you’ve enjoyed this podcast episode, please do share it in your networks, and like and subscribe to our Case by Case podcast on Spotify. More topical or interesting cases dropping each Thursday.

    27 min

About Case by Case

From the publisher's feed

Luke Zadkovich and Calum Cheyne of Floyd Zadkovich discuss a new case each week, focused on shipping, international trade and commercial law.