SMT Global Logistics Limited v Georgian Airlines LLC
| Court | Queen's Bench Division (Commercial Court) |
| Judge | Mr Justice Bryan |
| Neutral Citation | [2025] EWHC 739 (Comm) |
| Date | 24 February 2025 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Counsel | Mr M. Hain,Mr P. Burton |
Neutral Citation Number: [2025] EWHC 739 (Comm)
Case No: CL-2024-000077
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COMMERCIAL COURT (KBD)
Royal Courts of Justice, Rolls Building
Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL
Date: 24 February 2025
Before:
THE HON. MR JUSTICE BRYAN
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Between:
SMT GLOBAL LOGISTICS LIMITED Claimant
- and -
GEORGIAN AIRLINES LLC Defendant
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MR M. HAIN (instructed by Holman Fenwick Willan LLP) for the Claimant
MR P. BURTON (instructed by Tenet Compliance and Litigation Limited) for the
Defendant
Hearing Date: 24 February 2025
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APPROVED JUDGMENT
High Court Approved Judgment
MR JUSTICE BRYAN :
A. INTRODUCTION
1. The parties appear before the court on the hearing of:
(1) The application of the Defendant, Georgian Airlines LLC (the “Defendant”)
pursuant to its Application Notice dated 12 August 2024, challenging
jurisdiction under CPR Part 11 on the basis that the Claim Form has not been
validly served under CPR 6.33(2B)(b) (service out of the jurisdiction where
permission is not required on the basis of a contract term that the court shall
have jurisdiction to hear the claim) on the basis that Clause 7.2 of the relevant
agreement does not amount to such a jurisdiction clause or, alternatively (if it
does) on the basis that England and Wales is not the natural or appropriate
forum for the claim nor the proper place in which to bring the claim and there
is another available forum that is clearly or distinctly more appropriate than
England and Wales, namely Georgia (the “Jurisdiction Application”); and
(2) The application of the Claimant, SMT Global Logistics Limited (the
“Claimant”) pursuant to its application notice dated 17 February 2025, in the
alternative to its primary case that Clause 7.2 does amount to a term to the
effect that the court has jurisdiction, for permission to serve the Defendant out
of the jurisdiction on the basis that its claim is made in respect of a contract
where the contract is (by Clause 7.2) governed by the law of England and
Wales within the meaning of CPR PD 6B(6)(c) and England is the proper
place in which to bring the claim (the “Permission Application”).
2. The Permission Application would, in the normal way, be heard ex parte on paper
(with a right to thereafter apply to set it aside inter partes if granted). The Claimant
only recently issued the application (although it was foreshadowed as long ago as
September 2024 in the responsive evidence to the Jurisdiction Application). In
circumstances in which the proper construction of Clause 7.2 inevitably arises on the
Jurisdiction Application and the Paper Application but the Defendant submitted that
the Permission Application should not be listed together with the Jurisdiction
Application as they had had insufficient time to serve any response, I directed that the
Permission Application should be listed with the Jurisdiction Application but it would
be heard on an ex parte (albeit on notice) basis and should permission be granted, the
Defendant would be at liberty to apply to set it aside in the usual way (such
application thereafter being heard on an inter partes basis in the usual way).
B. BACKGROUND
3. The Claimant is an air cargo specialist logistics company incorporated in Hong Kong.
The Defendant is an airline incorporated in Georgia.
4. On 8 September 2023, the Claimant and the Defendant entered into a written contract
for the carriage of goods by air (Agreement No.0905/23) (the “Contract”) whereby
the Defendant agreed to “organise and execute regular cargo charter flights” in
accordance with a pre-agreed schedule. By Amendment No.1 thereto, dated 17
October 2023, the previously agreed route (from an airport in China to an airport in
Page 2
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