Scott Ralston

Scott Ralston

Call: Call: 2012; 2010 (Solicitor); 2004 (Victoria)

"Scott Ralston has great technical knowledge."

- Chambers & Partners UK Bar (2024)

'Very intelligent with a forensic attention to detail. Certainly someone you would want in your corner.'

- Legal 500 UK Bar (2024)

"A junior to watch. He has a prodigious work ethic allied with strong legal skills and he masters the detail swiftly and adds real value to a team very quickly."

- Chambers & Partners UK Bar (2022)

"Experienced, authoritative and diligent."

- Legal 500 UK Bar (2022)

Practice Overview

Scott has a broad commercial practice including:

  • Agency
  • Arbitration and related applications
  • Banking & Finance
  • Civil Fraud
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Economic Torts
  • Guarantees
  • Interim Relief
  • Jurisdiction and Conflict of Laws
  • Restitution

Scott has been recognised as a Leading Junior in banking & finance by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 UK.

A v B (2023) – Commercial Court litigation concerning liability for Dutch VAT under contracts for the supply of ULSD

C v D (2023) – Circuit Commercial Court litigation concerning a dispute arising from sale of shares including breach of warranty claims and application of purchase price formula

Wan v UBS AG (London Branch) [2022] EWHC 245 (Comm); [2022] 2 All ER (Comm) 448 and on appeal [2023] EWCA Civ 222; [2023] 1 WLR 1984 Jurisdictional challenge (led by David Quest KC).

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC v Shetty [2021] EWHC 2273 (Comm). Resisting a late attempt to challenge jurisdiction.

IDBI Bank Ltd v IDH International Drilling Holdco Ltd (formerly Essar Shipping and Logistics Ltd) (Comm) [2020] EWHC 3709 (Comm) (summary judgment and proper construction of settlement agreement); [2021] EWHC 1908 (Comm) (summary judgment and proper construction of guarantee and indemnity).

Midtown Acquisitions LP v Essar Global Fund Ltd [2018] EWHC 2545 (Comm); [2019] 1 All ER (Comm) 631 recognition and enforcement of a NY judgment at common law, double recovery, Henderson v Henderson abuse of process and the effect of an agreed foreign stay, stay of execution (led by David Wolfson QC).

Rooftops South West Ltd & Ors v Ash Interiors (UK) Ltd & Ors [2018] EWHC 2799 (QB). Claim arising out of the unlawful enforcement of a writ during the making of television program “Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away!”.

Midtown Acquisitions LP v Essar Global Fund Ltd & Ors [2017] EWHC 2206 (QB). Resisting attempts to enforce against a Boeing 737-700 aircraft. Nature of enforcement regime and scope of the HCEO’s powers (led by John Odgers QC).

TJH and Sons Consultancy Limited v CPP Group Plc [2017] EWCA Civ 46. Proper construction of a consultancy agreement against the background of a prior employment relationship. Issues concerning the express incorporation of terms, contractual discretion, and proper use of pre-contractual negotiations.

Brogden & Reid v Investec Bank plc [2016] EWCA Civ 1031 (CA); [2017] IRLR 90; Leggatt J at first instance [2014] EWHC 2785 (Comm); [2014] IRLR 924. Dispute concerning the existence of oral agreement and proper calculation of bankers’ bonuses including the nature and application of the formula for calculating the profit made by the bank’s structured equity derivatives desk (led by Jonathan Nash QC).

A client of a regional law firm (Ch). Claimant advancing claims of professional negligence and breach of fiduciary obligations. Parallel criminal proceedings (led by Andrew Sutcliffe QC).

A former senior employee (Comm). Acted in the Commercial Court for a senior employee facing personal and proprietary claims and a freezing order arising out of the alleged dishonest misappropriation of company assets. Circumstances in which a senior employee will owe fiduciary obligations, and common law and equitable tracing through London property (led by Jonathan Nash QC).

Abraaj funds litigation. Proprietary, fiduciary and other claims in the Cayman Islands arising out of the collapse of the Abraaj private equity group (led by David Quest QC).

Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse International & Ors (Comm) Claims for more than US $2bn in the Commercial Court concerning sovereign debt and bribery, conspiracy, deceit, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt:

  • [2020] EWHC 1709 (Comm). Commercial Court declined to defer to Swiss arbitrators on jurisdiction. Analysis of the authorities on the case-management of stay applications brought under s.9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (led by Joe Smouha QC and Nathan Pillow QC, leading Ryan Ferro).
  • [2020] 6 WLUK 465. Application granted to correct the name of the sixth defendant and declaration of valid service (led by Nathan Pillow QC, leading Ryan Ferro).
  • [2020] EWHC 2012 (Comm). Scope of the Swiss-law governed arbitration agreements. The judgment addresses recent case-law concerning the proper approach to the identification of the matters in respect of which proceedings are brought and construes the scope of the alleged arbitration agreements applying Swiss law. In the result the Court dismissed the applications brought under s.9 (led by Nathan Pillow QC, leading Ryan Ferro).
  • (Unreported, Waksman J) director validly served pursuant to s.1140 of the Companies Act 2006 (led by Nathan Pillow QC, leading  Ryan Ferro).

A European listed entity v international bank (Comm Court). Proper calculation of the makewhole amount under a margin facility agreement in a takeover context, economic duress (led by John Odgers QC).

AGPL v AIB Group (UK) plc t/a Allied Irish Bank plc. Acted for the Bank on two successful applications in the TCC for security for costs from a property developer.

Prior to transferring to the bar, notable cases as a solicitor included:

The Blue Sky litigation, which concerned enforcement of aircraft mortgages in connection with US sanctions issues and involving issues of private international law, Iranian law, US law, Dutch law, and Armenian law: [2009] EWHC 3314 (Comm); [2010] EWHC 128 (Comm); [2010] EWHC 631 (Comm); [2011] EWCA Civ 544; [2011] EWCA Civ 771.

Lomas v Firth Rixson [2010] EWHC 3372 (Ch); [2011] 2 BCLC 120. Briggs J’s first instance decision in relation to the proper construction of s.2(a)(iii) of the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement.

Anthracite v LBSF [2011] EWHC 1822 (Ch), concerning the proper construction of bespoke early close-out provisions in two cash settled put options incorporating the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC v Shetty and Ors US$1bn claim relating to undisclosed debts, supply-chain finance and the collapse of NMC Health plc [2020] EWHC 3423 (Comm); [2020] EWHC 3692 (Comm); [2021] EWHC 2273 (Comm); [2022] EWHC 529 (Comm). In the ADGM Court: [2022] ADGMCFI 0007; [2022] ADGMCFI 0011; [2023] ADGMCFI 0021; [2023] ADGMCFI 0025.

IDBI Bank Ltd v IDH International Drilling Holdco Ltd (formerly Essar Shipping and Logistics Ltd) (Comm) [2020] EWHC 3709 (Comm) (summary judgment and proper construction of settlement agreement); [2021] EWHC 1908 (Comm) (summary judgment and proper construction of guarantee and indemnity).

Hodell v Clydesdale Bank plc [2018] EWHC 1009 (QB). Sole advocate for bank resisting claims by a property developer, partnership and two companies for breach of an alleged contract to provide long term finance in context of life and critical illness insurance policies, statutory misrepresentations, and an unfair relationship under the CCA 1974. After a five-day High Court trial, the claims were dismissed.

The RBS Rights Issue litigation (Ch). Long-running group litigation arising out of the £12 billion Rights Issue in 2008. Acted for one of the institutional lead claimant groups (represented by Stewarts Law) in this claim under s.90 of FSMA that the prospectus was misleading and incomplete. The claim settled in December 2016. Main focus on the extent to which the prospectus accurately depicted the credit market exposures on RBS’s balance sheet (then the world’s largest bank). Particular asset classes included CDOs, monolines, leveraged loans, ABS (led by Andrew Onslow QC and Adam Kramer).

A European listed entity v international bank (Comm Court). Proper calculation of the makewhole amount under a margin facility agreement in a takeover context, economic duress (led by John Odgers QC).

Brogden & Reid v Investec Bank plc [2016] EWCA Civ 1031 (CA); [2017] IRLR 90; Leggatt J at first instance [2014] EWHC 2785 (Comm); [2014] IRLR 924. Dispute concerning the existence of oral agreement and proper calculation of bankers’ bonuses including the nature and application of the formula for calculating the profit made by the bank’s structured equity derivatives desk (led by Jonathan Nash QC).

AGPL v AIB Group (UK) plc t/a Allied Irish Bank plc Acted for the Bank on two successful applications in the TCC for security for costs from a property developer.

Application to the UKSC for permission to appeal from Chudley & Ors v Clydesdale Bank Plc (t/a Yorkshire Bank) [2019] EWCA Civ 344; [2020] QB 284 (led by Richard Salter QC and Ian Wilson QC).

BIT Claimant v Romania. Complex facts with the usual issues of law (led by Christopher Harris QC).

Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse International & Ors (Comm) Claims for more than US $2bn in the Commercial Court. One aspect involved resisting arbitration-related challenges to jurisdiction:

[2020] EWHC 1709 (Comm). Court declined to defer to Swiss arbitrations on the issue of jurisdiction. Analysis of the authorities on the case-management of stay applications brought under s.9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (led by Joe Smouha QC and  Nathan Pillow QC, leading Ryan Ferro).

[2020] EWHC 2012 (Comm). Scope of Swiss-law governed arbitration agreements determined following a three-day hearing. The judgment addresses recent case-law concerning the proper approach to the identification of the matters “in respect of” which proceedings are brought and construes the scope of the alleged Swiss-law-governed arbitration agreements applying Swiss law. In the result the Court dismissed the applications brought under s.9 (led by Nathan Pillow QC, leading Ryan Ferro).

ArcelorMittal USA LLC v Essar Steel Ltd [2019] EWHC 724 (Comm); [2019] 2 All ER (Comm) 414. Recognition and enforcement of a NYC Award, worldwide freezing order in aid of enforcement, and ancillary orders (led by Daniel Toledano QC).

Advising as to grounds of resisting recognition and enforcement of a NYC Award, including issue estoppels.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC v Shetty and Ors US$1bn claim relating to undisclosed debts, supply-chain finance and the collapse of NMC Health plc [2020] EWHC 3423 (Comm); [2020] EWHC 3692 (Comm); [2021] EWHC 2273 (Comm); [2022] EWHC 529 (Comm). In the ADGM Court: [2022] ADGMCFI 0007; [2022] ADGMCFI 0011; [2023] ADGMCFI 0021; [2023] ADGMCFI 0025.

Acted in the Commercial Court for a senior employee facing personal and proprietary claims and a freezing order arising out of the alleged dishonest misappropriation of company assets. Circumstances in which a senior employee will owe fiduciary obligations, and common law and equitable tracing through London property (led by Jonathan Nash QC).

Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse International & Ors (Comm Court) Acted for the Republic in the early stages of claims in excess of US $2bn in the Commercial Court for, inter alia, declarations as to the enforceability of sovereign guarantees and damages for bribery, conspiracy, deceit, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt.

Glenn v Watson (Ch). Acted for one of the corporate defendants.

Price v Craig (County Court, 2020) Personal claims against the administrator of the corporate recipient of the proceeds of a push payment fraud, including negligence, equitable claims, proprietary rights.

Advising a general trading company in relation to personal and proprietary claims arising out of a mistaken payment made because of push payment fraud.

Winner: UK Bar Awards 2023
The Lawyer Awards 2022: Chambers of the Year