Excalibur Ventures LLC v Texas Keystone Inc & Ors (Rev 2)
2014
COMMERCIAL COURT
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE CHRISTOPHER CLARKE
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Commercial Law
- Equity and Trusts
2014
COMMERCIAL COURT
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
In the case of Excalibur Ventures LLC vs. Texas Keystone Inc. and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited, Excalibur's claim to oil fields in Kurdistan was dismissed. The court ordered Excalibur and its funders to pay the defendants' costs on an indemnity basis. Funders were held jointly and severally liable, and the Arkin cap was applied to both litigation expenses and security for costs.
Judgment
LORD JUSTICE CHRISTOPHER CLARKE
On 17 December 2010 Excalibur Ventures LLC (“Excalibur”), a Delaware corporation, began this action against Texas Keystone Inc. (“Texas”), Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited and other Gulf Keystone companies (“the Gulf Defendants”), together “the Defendants”. In it Excalibur claimed to be entitled to an interest in a number of oil fields in Kurdistan, which are potentially extremely profitable, and of which the Shaikan field is the most important. The claim was for specific performance of the Collaboration Agreement pursuant to which Excalibur claimed its entitlement to an interest in the fields or to damages which, as finally put, were said to be of the order of US $ 1.6 billion. On some unknown date Excalibur entered into some form of conditional fee agreement with Clifford Chance LLP (“Clifford Chance”), their solicitors.
On 10 September 2013 I read out in court the concluding paragraph of my judgment. On 13 December 2013 I handed down the full judgment. Its effect was that the claim failed on every point. On the same day I ordered that the claim be dismissed and that Excalibur should pay the Defendants their costs to be assessed on the indemnity basis. The reasons why I did so are set out in the judgment which I gave on that day (“the costs judgment”).
I ordered Excalibur to make a payment on account of the Defendants’ costs in the sum of £ 10,700,000 in respect of the Gulf Defendants, and £ 6,800,000 in respect of Texas. The sum of £ 17,500,000 which had been paid into Court as security was to be paid out to the Defendants forthwith in satisfaction of the payments on account which I had ordered.
I also ordered Excalibur to provide additional security for the Defendants’ costs in the total sum of £ 5,612,010, failing which I gave the Defendants leave to join some of the funders of the action to the proceedings. That security was never provided. Leave was given to join the remainder of the funders subsequently.
Excalibur is but a nameplate for Rex and Eric Wempen. It could not have brought this action unless it had been financed by a number of different persons who at different times and in different amounts produced the monies necessary to start and, later, to continue the action. That included providing or contributing to the funds which were required to be paid into court by way of security for costs. In return the funders were to share, to differing extents, in the fruits of the action if it succeeded.
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