Zachary Kell

Zachary has developed experience in disputes relating to the banking and finance sector including:

• enforcement of loans, debentures, guarantees, indemnities, securities and mortgages (including matters with undue influence or misrepresentation elements);
• factoring, invoice discounting and trade finance (with all related issues under the law of assignment);
• merchant services, such as card processing agreements and terms relating to charge backs;
• consumer credit.

Recent work includes:

• successfully defended a major international bank against a claim for removal of fraud markers from the National Hunter and Cifas databases in a case which considered the application of Durkin v DSG Retail Ltd [2014] UKSC 21;
• instructed on a summary judgment application relating to chargeback provisions under a merchant card agreement for a major international payment processing company;
• a costs dispute in the Commercial Court following the withdrawal of an application (before Robin Dicker QC sitting as a Judge of the High Court).

Zachary has developed experience in general commercial disputes, and accepts instructions in matters relating to:

• sale of goods, and supply of goods and services;
• breach of contract, and all matters involving interpretation of contracts;
• assignment of debts, and any other chose in action;
• insurance policies (in particular commercial polices or those relating to real estate).

Recent work includes:

• Arif v Sanger [2021] EWHC 1183 (QB): successfully defeated, as junior counsel to Rachel Sleeman, an application for summary judgment in a deceit claim before Senior Master Fontaine on complex questions of limitation and what it means when a claimant “could have with reasonable diligence discovered” the fraud or concealment for the purposes of ss. 32(1)(a) and (b) of the Limitation Act 1980;
• ongoing deceit claim in the High Court worth c.£2.5million involving an international investment in a building development (sole counsel);
• junior counsel, to Philip Coppel QC, in the Court of Appeal in a case looking at the scope of the tort of unlawful means conspiracy (judgment pending);
• ongoing deceit claim in the High Court relating to a joint venture;
• advising on an unlawful means conspiracy claim in the Chancery Division;
• appearing for the 8th and 11th Respondents in Homes of England Limited v Horsham Holdings Limited et Ors (variation of an injunction before Ms Pat Treacy sitting as a Judge of the Chancery Division);
• successfully resisting an application for Mareva relief and an access injunction relating to a commercial property and having the same marked totally without merit (before His Honour Judge Rawlings sitting as a Judge of the High Court, Queen’s Bench Division);
• drafting proceedings and appearing at the hearing of an emergency injunction to access a multi-million pound property (before Snowden J.);
• advising on a claim under an insurance policy following the theft of a luxury car;
• a costs dispute in the Commercial Court following the withdrawal of an application (before Robin Dicker QC sitting as a Judge of the High Court);
• appearing for a claims purchaser in its appeal to a circuit judge against a major British airline on the question of whether assignment of a cause of action under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 amounted to assignment of a bare cause of action, and therefore champertous;
• Houghton v PB Donoghue (Haulage & Plant Hire Ltd) and others [2017] EWHC 1738 (Ch): Morgan J considered an application for permission under CPR 36.11(3)(d) to accept a defendant’s Part 36 offer (made almost six months previously) two days after trial began (assisted Simon Mills during pupillage).

Zachary has developed experience in disputes relating to companies, corporate governance and shareholders, and accepts instructions in matters relating to:

• shareholder disputes and shareholder activism such as unfair prejudice petitions;
• derivative claims;
• directors’ duties and corporate governance;
• joint ventures;
• Companies Act advice.

Recent work includes:

• advising on an international share dispute worth c.$30million (led by Simon Mills);
• 4-day shareholders dispute in the Chancery Division over allegations of breach of contract and fiduciary duties (sole counsel);
• Homes of England Ltd v Horsham Holdings Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 1175 (Ch): 1-day hearing of an injunction attempting to restrain payment between companies until determination of two unfair prejudice petitions. Zachary appeared as sole counsel for the 8th and 11th Defendants and successfully resisted the grant of the injunction on the basis of the court ordering indemnities (sole counsel);
• instructed on a claim in the Chancery Division for a director requesting inspection of company documents pursuant to Companies Act 2006, Pt 15, Ch 2 and the common law (sole counsel);
• instructed on a deceit claim in the High Court involving a purported joint venture (sole counsel);
• acting for a major international supplier of construction equipment in a joint venture dispute.

Zachary has a busy practice with matters involving serious allegations of dishonesty and including issues of:

• deceit/fraudulent misrepresentation;
• conspiracy;
• breach of fiduciary duty and breach of trust;
• dishonest assistance and accessory liability;
• interlocutory relief (freezing injunctions, search orders, etc).

Recent work includes:

• Arif v Sanger [2021] EWHC 1183 (QB): successfully defeated, as junior counsel to Rachel Sleeman, an application for summary judgment in a deceit claim before Senior Master Fontaine on complex questions of limitation and what it means when a claimant “could have with reasonable diligence discovered” the fraud or concealment for the purposes of ss. 32(1)(a) and (b) of the Limitation Act 1980;
• ongoing deceit claim in the High Court worth c.£2.5million involving an international investment in a building development (sole counsel);
• junior counsel, to Philip Coppel QC, in the Court of Appeal in a case looking at the scope of the tort of unlawful means conspiracy (judgment pending);
• 4-day shareholders dispute in the High Court over allegations of breach of contract and fiduciary duties (sole counsel);
• instructed on a deceit claim in the High Court involving a purported joint venture (sole counsel);
• Homes of England Ltd v Horsham Holdings Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 1175 (Ch): 1-day hearing of an injunction attempting to restrain payment between companies until determination of two unfair prejudice petitions including the question of whether the application had to satisfy the test for a freezing injunction.

Zachary has developed experience in insolvency matters, and accepts instructions relating to:

• corporate insolvency, including misfeasance, fraudulent trading and wrongful trading;
• applications to extend administrations;
• applications restraining presentation or advertisement of a winding-up petition
• personal insolvency, including insolvency administration orders of a deceased’s estate;
• transactions at an undervalue;
• rescission, annulment, and setting aside statutory demands.

Recent work includes:

• advising on a multi-million pound s.212 & s.213 dispute (sole counsel, ongoing);
• acting in an application for recognition under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 in a bankruptcy worth c.£40million (sole counsel);
• a High Court appeal regarding an application to set aside a statutory demand on the basis of a substantial dispute, issues regarding a limitation defence and questions of security (ongoing, led by Rachel Sleeman);
• bankruptcy proceedings involving a debtor resident overseas, service out of the jurisdiction, COMI and the EU Regulation 2015/848 (sole counsel);
• an urgent application for an administration order to take retrospective effect per the jurisdiction set out in Re Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Ltd [2019] EWHC 3298 (Ch);
• advising on the implications of a life tenancy granted under a trust deed and how it affects a debtor’s bankruptcy estate;
• defending a misfeasance claim against directors;
• bankruptcy proceedings involving a cryptocurrency trader;
• successfully extended the administration of a tailoring company to allow for the realisation of assets related to a sale of commercial property;
• responding to an application restraining advertisement of a winding-up petition which included arguments on full and frank disclosure;
• advising on the tracing of trust funds wrongly paid to a company in administration;
• successfully obtaining an emergency validation order for both prospective and retrospective transactions.

BPTC, City University London, 2015.
GDL, City University London, 2014.
BA English Literature, University College London, First Class, 2013.

• International professional and legal development grant programme (provided for by COMBAR and the Young Barristers’ Committee) to speak at the Bar Council and Cyprus Bar Association’s joint English-Cypriot Law Day.
• BPTC Major Exhibition, Inner Temple, 2014.
• Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award, Inner Temple, 2014.
• Second Prize – Senior Moot, City University London, 2014.
• GDL Major Scholarship, Inner Temple, 2013.
• John Oliver Hobbes Memorial Prize, University College London, 2013.

“Sanctions on the Rise: The 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive and the Post-Brexit Landscape.” Emily Georgiades and Zachary Kell. Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. March 2021.

Gough on Company Charges, 3rd Edition (Ch 27 Invalidation, Ch 28 Registration extension, and Ch 29 Constructive notice). Date TBA.

“Arkin uncapped: Chapelgate and the future of litigation funding.” Zachary Kell and Joel Goschalk. Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. June 2020.

Keeping the shutters up: retail CVAs and property rights following Debenhams. R3 RECOVERY Magazine. Spring 2020.

“Opening Pandora’s Box? PSD2, consumer control and combatting fraud.” Emily Georgiades and Zachary Kell. Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. January 2020.

“Disclosure: co-operation in an adversarial system.” Zachary Kell and Laura Sutton. Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. July 2019.

“Sit up and take notice! Partridge v Gupta.” Ben Maltz and Zachary Kell. Property Litigation Association. September 2017.

• Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR);
• Property Bar Association (PBA);
• R3 Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3).