Qualified in 1989
Michael maintains an extensive general property and commercial litigation practice, spanning chancery matters, company law, consumer credit, bankruptcy and insolvency, professional negligence, unfair prejudice claims and minority shareholder disputes.
Business & Commercial Law
Michael undertakes all forms of consumer and commercial contract disputes, including the drafting of shareholder agreements, sale agreements and IP licences.
Michael has extensive experience of all aspects of both individual and corporate insolvency matters, including contesting winding up petitions, administration petitions and other insolvency applications. He has accepted instructions in this area of law ever since he began commercial practice and is extremely well versed in the law surrounding insolvency and bankruptcy.
Michael has become one of the foremost minority shareholder dispute practitioners in the North Eastern circuit. He successfully acted for the petitioner in Re Watercor Ltd [2017] EWHC 1814, an unfair prejudice claim involving a quasi-partnership company. It was held that the court may assume that a purchaser would have included a formula taking into account subsequent performance.
Michael has wide ranging experience in consumer credit.
When claims for PPI first arose in the early 2010s, Michael took a role in drafting the early templates for pleadings under s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a local firm of solicitors which arose oput of the then leading case of Harrison v Black Horse [2011] EWCA Civ 1128.
He has since appeared on behalf of defendants in PPI, mortgage mis selling and a wide range of other credit matters.
Professional Negligence
Michael has a wealth of experience representing claimants in actions against mortgage brokers, surveyors, accountants, solicitors, architects and other professionals in Chancery Division.
In February 2021, Michael was the first counsel able to successfully resist a Defendant’s application to strike out a mortgage mis selling claim in Ross v Attanta [2021] EWHC 503 (Comm). The application turned on limitation date of knowledge pursuant to s.14A Limitation Act 1980.
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