If you really want to see a High Court judge getting stuck in you couldn't do any better than going to see Peter Smith J when he deals with the Candy brothers battle with Qatari Diar over the Chelsea Barracks scheme this Spring.
At the core of the dispute is the Candys' claim that the Qataris, by withdrawing Lord Rogers' plans for the Chelsea Barracks site at the behest of Prince Charles, had breached a share purchase agreement, under which Christian Candy's CPC Group had sold its interest in the site to the Qataris.
Tactical manoeuvering definitely seems to be the order of the day in the case and Peter Smith J is having none of it.
Counsel for the Qataris Joe Smouha QC complained that there may not be enough time to prepare for a trial of the dispute by then and there may be some kind of "disaster" that would send the case spinning off the track and into an horrendous car crash.
Much better, he said, to wait until October [by which time a second planning application fior the scheme will have been submitted to Westminster Council].
Peter Smith J was not impressed and said that he couldnt see why the matter could not be heard before the planning application was submitted "I will make it happen" he warned.
And, to borrow the Nike catchphrase [and apparently that of fellow High Court judge Briggs J], "Just do it!" the judge added.
Photo by thats_nate via Flickr.
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