Nippon Yusen Kaisha v Karageorgis

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
JudgeLORD JUSTICE BROWNE,LORD JUSTICE GEOFFREY LANE
Judgment Date22 May 1975
Judgment citation (vLex)[1975] EWCA Civ J0522-4
CourtCourt of Appeal (Civil Division)
Date22 May 1975
Between
Nippon Yusen Kaisha
Plaintiffs
and
George Karageorgis and John Karageorgis
Defendants

[1975] EWCA Civ J0522-4

Before:

The Waster of The Rolls (Lord Denning),

Lord Justice Browne and

Lord Justice Geoffrey Lane

In The Supreme Court of Judicature

Court of Appeal

Exparte application by Nippon Yusen Kaisha.

Mr. G. BRICE (instructed by Messrs. Middleton Lewis & Co.) appeared on behalf of Nippon Yusen Kaisha.

There was no other appearance.

1

THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS: The big shipowners of Japan, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, entered into charterparties with two gentlemen, Mr. George Karageorgis and Mr. John Karageorgis. Three ships were let on charter to those two gentlemen, one on a voyage charter and two on time charters. The hire, of course, was payable by the charterers. The charterers relied on good contracts by law with Peru. But unfortunately things have not gone as was anticipated. Mr. George Karageorgis and Mr. John Karageorgis have not paid the charterparty hire. They said that they transmitted it to New York, but the money has never been received. Attempts to find the two Messrs. Karageorgis have not succeeded. It is said their office In the Piraeus is closed, but the plaintiffs believe, and rightly believe, that they have funds with banks here in London. The plaintiffs fear that the moneys in those banks may be transmitted out of the jurisdiction unless something is done to retain them here. So they apply for an interim injunction against Mr. George Karageorgis and Mr. John Karageorgis to restrain them from disposing or removing any of their assets which are in this jurisdiction outside it.

2

We are told that an injunction of this kind has never been done before. It has never been the practice of the English Courts to seize assets of a defendant in advance of judgment, or to restrain the disposal of them. We were told that Mr. Justice Chapman in chambers recently refused such an application. In this case also Mr. Justice Donaldson refused. We know, of course, that the practice on the Continent of Europe is different.

3

It seems to me that the time has come when we should revise our practice. There is no reason why the High Court or this Court should not make an order such as is asked for here. It is warranted by section 45 of the Judicature Act 1925 which says the High Court may grant a mandamus or injunction or appoint areceiver by an interlocutory order in all cases in which it appears to the...

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65 cases
1 firm's commentaries
  • Fla. Ruling Opens Door To Foreign Asset Freeze Enforcement
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    • 22 March 2021
    ...[1] Gorsoan Ltd. v. Bullock, 2020-020803-CA-01 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Feb. 17, 2021), Dkt. No. 44. [2] Nippon Yusen Kaisha v. Karageorgis , [1975] 2 Lloyd's Rep. 137 (C.A.). [3] Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo S.A. v. All. Bond Fund, Inc. , 527 U.S. 308, 332 (1999). [4] Rasu Maritima SA v. Perusahaan ......
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    ...Compariia Naviera SA v. Int'l Bulkcarriers SA [1980] 1 All ER 213 (AC) at 215 (Lord Denning MR); Nippon Yusen Kaisha v. Karageorgis [1975] 3 All ER 282 (AC) at 283 (Lord Denning MR). The result was later confirmed by a formal rule. See Civ. P. R. 25.1(0 (1998) (UK) (authorizing freezing (17......
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    • Caribbean Law Review No. 4-2, December 1994
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    ...by the author at the Faculty of La'w, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, in March 1994. 1 Pp. 60-74. 2 [1975] 3 All E.R. 282. 5 Ibid., at 283. "We are told that an injunction of this kind has never been done before. It has never been the practice of the English Court......
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