+234 20 1454 2130

+234 20 1454 7944

Dispute Resolution

Our Dispute Resolution Practice Group is well equipped to help you navigate commercial disputes in and out of the courts, while securing your best interest.

With years of fruitful experience in resolving shipping; labour & employment; and general commercial disputes, our approach, in all instances where we act for our diverse clients, is to step into your shoes and put you first in helping to resolve your commercial disputes.

We provide result-oriented representation to our clients via the various adjudicatory proceedings such as litigation, arbitration and other representative alternative dispute resolution fora. We are able to provide excellent and comprehensive representation to our clients by collaborating across different practice groups, as applicable in each instance, to meet the needs of our clients. We have played key roles in attaining landslide victories in some of the biggest commercial disputes nationally and internationally across several industries and areas of our practice.  

Our dispute resolution practice group is well versed in a wide range of commercial disputes including commercial debt recovery actions, employment and trade disputes, finance and securities disputes and shipping and oil services disputes.  As an indication of our wide reach, our shipping and oil services disputes team continues to act for some of the members of the world’s largest Protection and Indemnity Clubs, representing them in dispute resolution negotiations, as well as securing the arrest of vessels as security for their maritime claims. 

Our dispute resolution group is a key practice group which is integrated with and works smoothly with all other practice groups to meet clients’ needs from time to time.

Representative Experience

  • Representing Ardova Plc (formerly Forte Oil) in arbitration proceedings concerning a breach of contract dispute.
  • Successfully negotiated amicable settlement of a multi-million Naira Foreign Exchange Forward Sale Agreement dispute between two Nigerian companies.
  • Advised the Bankruptcy Estate of EMAS AMC AS on the tracing and recovery of assets within Nigeria.
  • Representing a Nigerian shipowner in an action against the Nigerian Ports Authority in respect of damage done to its vessel (due to an unmarked submerged wreck) whilst it was passing through a channel within the purview and pilotage of the Nigerian Ports Authority.
  • Advised Fluid Power Marine Services Limited in the successful recovery of multi-million Naira worth of mooring charges in respect of a lift boat.
  • Acted for a Nigerian oil services company in relation to the recognition and enforcement of a London arbitral award (made pursuant to the terms of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association) against a leading oil and gas offshore services company operating in Nigeria and the West Africa, at the Federal High Court of Nigeria.
  • Successful argued an unlawful and unfairly prejudicial conduct/oppression in the affairs petition on behalf of the minority shareholders in a private company.
  • Represented an employee of a multinational oil and gas company at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in a claim for outstanding redundancy benefits. The fact of the case bordered on when redundancy claims can validly arise – the case is novel as it expanded the jurisprudence of redundancy benefit accrual in Nigeria.
  • Defended a foreign ship owner and its master in relation to a claim for unpaid brokerage commission commenced at Federal High Court of Nigeria by a Nigerian oil service company.
  • Currently defending the Owners of a vessel, on the instructions of the London P&I Club (member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (“IGP”), in connection with an alleged damage to bagged rice by a Nigerian charterer.
  • Represented an employee of a helicopter operator that services the Nigerian oil and gas industry, at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. The fact of the case bothers on the unlawful termination of employment - the case expanded the jurisprudence of restrictive covenants in Nigeria.
  • Currently defending Nepal Oil & Gas Limited in connection with a wrongful arrest claim commenced against it at Federal High Court of Nigeria.
  • Currently defending the Owners of a vessel, Quest Shipping Limited, in relation to a collision claim before the Federal High Court of Nigeria and a subsequent appeal before the Court of Appeal.
  • Currently acting for Ejovi Dredging and Marine Services Limited in relation to recovering possession of a vessel from its bareboat charterers.
  • Defending the Owners of a vessel, on the instructions of The American Club (member of the IGP), in relation to a collision claim before the Federal High Court of Nigeria.
  • Acted for GPK Marine Management Services Group FZ-LLC in the successful recovery of circa US3M unpaid hire from a Nigerian EPC contractor. We had to procure, inter alia, the arrest of the debtor’s vessel in Singapore, as well as commence English law arbitration in London, to recover the unpaid hire.
  • Acted for Sea Trucks Group Limited (in Liquidation) (and its subsidiary companies) (“STG”) in relation to several London arbitrations and suits before the Lagos State High Court, Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for the repossession of vessels chartered out to and under the control of STG’s former Nigerian affiliate, West African Ventures Limited and its subsidiaries.
  • Defended the Chinese owners of an arrested vessel, on the instructions of the West of England Club (member of the IGP), in relation to alleged unpaid bunkers (ordered by a previous time charterer of the vessel) claim before the Federal High Court of Nigeria.
  • Successfully defended the Owners of a vessel, on the instructions of the American Club, in connection with a pre-emptive claim, filed by a Nigerian charterer and its guarantor, for the Federal High Court of Nigeria not to recognise and enforce a London arbitral award (made pursuant to the rules of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association) made against the Nigerian charterer and its guarantor.
  • Acted for Monjasa AS in the arrest of a Norwegian owned vessel in Lagos for unpaid bunker fees; negotiated settlement of the matter and the payment of the outstanding bunker fees; and obtained the release order for the vessel upon settlement of the matter.
  • Advised Bambini S.p.A in relation to the detention of one of its vessels by the Nigerian Ports Authority as a result of an alleged infraction by a Nigerian charterer.
  • Advised Sea Trucks Group Limited (in Liquidation) (“STG”) in a suit filed against Guaranty Trust Bank PLC (“GTB”) and West African Ventures Limited for the refund the sum of Ten Million United States Dollars (US$10,000,000) paid by STG as advance cash collateral to GTB as security for a Ten Million United States Dollars (US$10,000,000) bank guarantee availed by GTB.
  • Represented the owners of a Nigerian stockbroking firm in a suit brought by the previous owners of the stockbroking firm at the Federal High Court of Nigeria. The suit deals with the transfer/sale of a Dealing Membership Licence issued by the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
  • Acted for a Greek shipowner in relation to the recovery of a 21,000MT motor tanker bareboat chartered to a Nigeria shipping company. We exercised the power of attorney contained within the charterparty as well as the de-registration power of attorney issued in favour of Owners and registered with the Nigerian Flag Registry. We thereafter commenced proceedings at the Federal High Court of Nigeria against the Nigerian charterer for recovery of the owed sums.
  • Acted for The Swedish Club, Greek office (member of the International Group of P&I Clubs), in relation to the wrongful arrest of a Malta flagged 35,595GT Container Ship whilst she called at Lagos, Nigeria.

Awards & Rankings

  • Bloomfield Law Practice’s shipping and transport mandates, covers “notable contentious and non-contentious issues”.
    The Legal 500 – 2019 Rankings

Related services

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Disputes are inevitable in human and business relations. However, the effective and timeous resolution of same is crucial to the continuity and success of such businesses. Our Alternative Dispute Resolution practice is indeed integrated into all of our service areas.

Over the years, we have successfully employed arbitration, negotiation and mediation as well as other ADR mechanisms to help resolve disputes across all sectors. Our focus is to help clients preserve business relationships as much as possible, while preventing the slowing down or standstill in their commercial activities due to litigation. As such, we make it a priority to devise commercially feasible compromises for parties to disputes in order to save time and costs and preserve relationships. Our lawyers are highly skilled and well exposed to the various available ADR mechanisms and are able to adopt the most suitable and or the predetermined ADR technique(s) to each peculiar brief. 

Our team members are committed to continuous training development in this area. Not only do they undergo requisite training and exposure in ADR, they are members of recognized national and international ADR societies and participate in conferences and seminars as facilitators and participants from time to time.
 

Arbitration

Our team employs our extensive knowledge of domestic and cross border arbitration practice and laws to help our clients resolve their personal and commercial disputes without resorting to litigation.

With a guarantee to help minimize cost and reduce dispute life span considerably, we provide representation to clients in arbitration proceedings related oil and gas, tax, securities, construction and real estate, power, intellectual property, labour and employment, and energy disputes.

We represent clients as arbitrators and advocates as the case may be, help clients negotiate, draft and interpret arbitration clauses and provisions in their contracts, pursue the enforcement of arbitration agreements, as well as the enforcement or appeal of arbitral awards. 

Fraud & Asset Recovery

At Bloomfield, we act for all parties in fraud and asset recovery matters either to help protect those assets from potential loss or to help recover them.

Our service spans, bankruptcy fraud, asset tracing and asset recovery, advising victims of fraud, investment scam recovery, real estate fraud, securities fraud, multi-jurisdictional fraud and white-collar crime.

We are extremely diligent and exceptionally thorough in exploring an avalanche of tested and trusted methods to help victims of fraud recover their loss. Our lawyers’ multi-disciplinary skills and knowledge is brought to bear in advising on all types of fraud matters and asset recovery issues. We are also able to capitalize on our longstanding relationships with regulators and public bodies in Nigeria to obtain much needed information and escalate fraud and asset recovery cases to the relevant We are result oriented in our approach and empathic in our relations with clients. This helps us deliver the right solutions to all of our clients, irrespective of the side of the bargain they have found themselves. 

Litigation

Our award-winning team of litigation lawyers are always trial ready. Our lawyers are well seasoned and familiar with the rules of law and the rules of the various courts in Nigeria.

Our lawyers have litigated matters across different sectors in different courts all over the federation, up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. We have represented prominent clients in some of the keenly contested legal disputes in the country, obtaining landmark judgments in our clients’ favour. And this is why our clients do not only come back to us, but highly recommend us to others. We have represented clients on litigation proceedings involving commercial disputes including debt recovery, employment and trade disputes, finance and securities disputes and shipping and oil services disputes. We have developed significant experience in securing arrest orders to gain security for our client’s claims.

We represent individuals and corporate entities both domestic and foreign in all types of litigable actions. We as well represent government agencies as private prosecutors and counsel. We are well known for employing the most efficient litigation strategies and diligently pursuing all our matters to logical conclusions. The best interest of our clients is of utmost importance to us as a firm, and our diverse team of versatile lawyers develop and implement superior case management plans to ensure the protection of those interests, at all times.
 
Thinking of instituting legal action? You have come to the right place. We will get you justice.

Related Pages

Our People

15, Agodogba Avenue, ParkView, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria

Telephone: +234 2014542130, +234 2014547944

Email: enquires@bloomfield-law.com

© Copyright Bloomfield 2024