Alexander Kingston-Splatt

Commercial

Alexander has considerable experience of litigating contracts of various types within several industries, and related advisory work. He also has experience of construction disputes involving main contractors, sub-contractors, architects and other professionals.

Examples of his work to date include:

• Acting against a household name building firm in a dispute concerning the interpretation of a complex development agreement, in relation to a site valued at £33m (as a solicitor).
• Advising in respect of a claim in the Commercial Court for the UK branch of an international aerospace manufacturing business in a dispute with a French-headquartered specialist supplier of component parts, regarding the quality and fitness for purpose of those parts (as a solicitor).
• Acting for an insurer in the Commercial Court in a case concerning the enforceability of a contract of reinsurance, involving issues of res judicata, limitation and public policy considerations in the recognition of judgments of the courts of foreign states (as a solicitor).
• Advising in a potential claim against a private school seeking costs as damages, involving the breach of the decision of a foreign court which failed to be recognised in the UK under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980.
• Successfully acting for a firm of architects in an adjudication involving complex issues of contractual interpretation and allegations of negligent advice.

Property

Alexander has considerable experience in all elements of property litigation, ranging from disputes arising out of the landlord and tenant relationship to those concerning complex areas of real property and land registration. He is also experienced in commercial disputes which include elements of property law.

Examples of his work to date include:

• Advising in respect of a complex collective enfranchisement claim involving issues of flying freeholds and whether the subject property could be viewed as “self-contained” by reason of its apparent structural attachment to surrounding buildings.
• Advising in respect of easements acquired by prescription over a rural estate with a complex pattern of ownership, rights of way and restrictive covenants.
• Appearing unled in a three-day trial for possession of a property concerning hundreds of allegations of antisocial behaviour and harassment.
• Successfully appealing the decision of a District Judge to grant a mandatory order compelling a landlord to readmit a former tenant to a property after execution of the warrant of possession, in the circumstances where the court had no basis upon which to conclude that the warrant had been obtained by fraud or oppression.

Company/Shareholder Disputes

Alexander has acted in various disputes arising out of the running of businesses, including those between members of companies and individuals working in partnership.

Examples of his work to date include:

• Advising in relation to obtaining an injunction to restrain former directors of a company from poaching clients and utilising the company’s confidential information.
• Defending a derivative claim brought against a director of a company by an aggrieved shareholder involving allegations of unlawful exploitation of business opportunities belonging to the company.
• Acting for the majority of the membership of a company in defending allegations of unfair prejudice brought by a shareholder.

Insolvency

Alexander acts in all aspects of contentious insolvency matters (both corporate and personal) and is regularly instructed in the High Court and the County Court on a range of applications. He also acts for various players in the commercial sphere in asset preservation and recovery work.

Examples of his work to date include:

• Regularly appearing for petitioning creditors and respondent companies and individuals in winding-up and bankruptcy petitions.
• Appearing for a creditor against a BVI-registered company in a petition involving complex issues of the court’s jurisdiction to wind-up unregistered companies under s. 221 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and consideration of the company’s centre of main interests under EU law.
• Successfully obtaining urgent injunctive relief for a well-known construction contractor to restrain a winding-up petition threatened to be issued against the contractor.
• Successfully obtaining vesting orders on behalf of various parties.

Reported cases in which Alexander was involved (as a solicitor) include:

• Hrabalek v. Hrabalek [2015] EWHC 1456 (QB)
• Liquid Investments Limited v. The Commissioners for HMRC [2014] UKFTT 297 (TC)
• R (on the application of Smoke Club Limited) v. Network Rail Infrastructure Limited [2013] EWHC 3830 (Admin)

Legal Practice Course – University of Law – Distinction

LLB – University of Kent – First Class

Kent Law School Prize for Special Achievement

COMBAR
Member of the Junior COMBAR Committee
The Law Society