Alexander Kingston-Splatt

Commercial Dispute Resolution

Alexander has considerable experience of litigation concerning contracts of different types within various industries, including light and heavy manufacturing, construction, insurance, aerospace and retail.  His cases often involve an international element.  He is frequently instructed to advise on the interpretation and enforceability of contractual arrangements, and to draft complex and bespoke contractual documentation.  He welcomes instructions in relation to:

• the interpretation and enforcement of contracts;
• disputes concerning the sale and supply of goods and services;
• disputes between commercial entities outside the scope of their contractual relationship;
• the enforcement of judgments, including issues as to tracing or following of assets;
• civil fraud (deceit, fraudulent misrepresentation and conspiracy);
• construction disputes between employers, contractors, subcontractors and professionals.

Banking and Finance

Alexander acts in a broad range of business and personal banking disputes for a variety of actors in the banking and financial fields.  He is frequently instructed in relation to:

• the interpretation and enforcement of loans, debentures and other forms of security documentation;
• the interpretation and enforcement of guarantees and indemnities;
• asset finance and leasing, and disputes which arise under such arrangements;
• conversion, trespass and wrongful interference with goods;
• factoring, invoice discounting and other forms of trade finance;
• merchant services disputes;
• consumer credit claims.

Company/Shareholder Disputes

Alexander is frequently instructed in disputes arising out of the running of businesses, including

those between members of companies and individuals working in partnership.  Alexander also accepts instructions to draft documents which are designed to avoid such disputes, including shareholder agreements.  He welcomes instructions in relation to:

• unfair prejudice petitions;
• prosecuting and resisting derivative claims brought by members of companies;
• the interpretation and enforcement of shareholder agreements;
• disputes between partners;
• joint venture litigation.

Restructuring/Insolvency (Corporate and Personal)

Alexander has experience of all types of insolvency procedures (both corporate and personal) and is regularly instructed in the High Court and the County Court on a range of applications.  His practice also frequently involves asset preservation and recovery work.  He is regularly instructed in relation to:

• winding-up and bankruptcy petitions;
• applications by trustees-in-bankruptcy to realise their interest in a bankrupt’s home;
• various applications by liquidators and administrators;
• advice concerning transactions at an undervalue and preferences;
• vesting order applications;
• advice on the effect of various insolvency procedures on the recoverability of debts;
• cross-border insolvency, including the operation of s. 221 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the consideration of a company’s centre of main interests.

Real Estate Litigation

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.  He is frequently instructed in relation to:

• the interpretation and enforcement of restrictive covenants and easements, including applications to modify or discharge restrictions under s. 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925;
• the interpretation and enforcement of leasehold covenants;
• development agreement disputes;
• claims in respect of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, including contested renewals and claims for compensation;
• forfeiture of commercial leases and applications seeking relief from forfeiture;
• dilapidations and disrepair;
• leasehold enfranchisement;
• the recovery of possession against a variety of commercial and residential occupiers;
• estate management by social landlords, including antisocial behaviour injunctions.

Wills and Trusts

Alexander has experience of traditional chancery work and welcomes instructions in relation to:

• trust disputes including claims against trustees;
• claims pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975;
• the interpretation of Wills and related litigation;
• the enforcement of claims against estates, including tracing under s. 38 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925;
• issues arising from insolvent estates.

Alexander enjoys a busy and developing practice.  Recent examples of his work include:

• Advising in respect of the enforcement of a contract where complex questions arise as to the conflict of laws, including the applicability of the Rome I Regulation and common law principles.
• 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 High Court 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.
• Successfully obtaining urgent injunctive relief for a well-known construction contractor to restrain the presentation of a winding-up petition against it.
• Successfully acting for a firm of architects in an adjudication involving issues of contractual interpretation and allegations of negligent advice.
• Acting for a Defendant to proceedings brought by a third-party auction underwriter in a claim involving complex issues of the law of agency and the extent to which terms may be implied into auction agreements by custom.
• Advising in a potential claim seeking the modification of restrictive covenants under s. 84 of the Law of Property act 1925 on the grounds of the prevention of reasonable user.
• Advising in respect of easements acquired by prescription over a rural estate with a convoluted structure 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.
• Advising in a potential claim against a private school seeking costs as damages, involving the breach of the decision of a foreign court which fell to be recognised in the UK under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980.
• 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.
• Acting in litigation concerning the disputed ownership of an 18^th Century painting, which included conflict of law issues regarding the lex situs of the painting at the point of passage of title (as a solicitor).
• 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).

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