Steven Gee QC

Practice

Steven Gee has been in silk since 1993.  Whilst a junior he was the standing junior counsel to the Department of Trade and Industry (ECGD).  He is the head of Stone Chambers, a commercial litigator, and the author of "Commercial Injunctions" (published by Sweet & Maxwell, 6^th edition forthcoming) and many articles.

Steven practises in the full range of commercial work including arbitrations, agency agreements, distribution agreements, commercial contracts, joint ventures, partnership cases, sale of goods, insurance, reinsurance cases, misrepresentation and civil fraud, shipping, shipbuilding, company law and banking.  He is recommended in the directories published by Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as a specialist in Commercial Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Civil Fraud, Insurance and Reinsurance and Shipping.

He sits as a commercial arbitrator (appointors include the President of the Law Society) and has acted in numerous commercial arbitrations over a period of 30 years in England, Bermuda, New York, Paris and Geneva (including ICC arbitrations in England, New York, Paris and Geneva), and as counsel in cases about the enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards.  He has appeared as counsel in Bermuda, in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ireland, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Antigua.  He sits as a Recorder of the Crown Court for civil, criminal and family matters.  He lectures extensively on all aspects of commercial law, and bodies for whom he has lectured include the Judicial Studies Board (to Court of Appeal and High Court judges), the Law Society of London, the Commercial Bar Association, the London Shipping Law Centre, GAFTA, the New York State Bar Association and C5.

He is a member of the New York Bar and admitted to practice in the State and Federal Courts in New York, and is a member of the Antigua Bar.

He was a tenant in two leading sets of commercial chambers for the first 25 years of his career, and in 1999 accepted an invitation to become Head of Chambers.

 

Supreme Court / House of Lords Cases:

During his career Steven has been counsel in a series of cases in the House of Lords/Supreme Court:

Global Process Systems v Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad [2010] UKSC 5 - Steven applied for permission for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court which was granted and the matter was heard in July 2010. The case is of great importance as it affects all cargo policies. It concerns the concept of ‘inherent vice’ and true meaning of standard exclusion of inherent vice on cargo policies in institute cargo clauses.

The Starsin [2003] 2 WLR 711 - identity of the contracting carrier on bills of lading, title to sue, the meaning and effect of the Himalaya clause, and interpretation of bills of lading.

Astro Exito Navegacion SA v Southland Enterprise Co Ltd - interim specific performance of a contract for sale.

The Sennar No 2 - issue estoppel / res judicata.

The Lips - damages for late payment involving a currency loss.

DSV v Shell No 2 - banking, garnishee orders, and the risk of double payment for a garnishee out of the jurisdiction.

Dimskal Shipping v ITF - economic duress, and conflicts of law.

 

Other Significant Cases

Steven's other cases include the following:

Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd v Far East Chartering Ltd & Another (The “Jag Ravi”) [2011] EWHC 1372 (Comm) [2011] Lloyd’s Rep Plus 65: contract – letter of indemnity – shipowners delivering cargo without production of bills of lading – whether shipowners entitled to enforce letter of indemnity issued by receivers – whether “delivery” under letter of indemnity – whether receivers entitled to rely on defence of public policy - Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

Phaethon International CO SA v Ispat Industries Ltd [2010] EWHC 3446 (Comm): arbitration clauses - foreign proceedings - injunctions interim measures. Acted on behalf of the London Underwriters in respect of a US$65million insurance claim arising out of the alleged expropriation of an oil rig by the Government of Venezuela. Piracy and issues of unsafe port - whether, because there had been crew members lost to pirates, this affected whether or not the vessel had to port.

Star Reefers Pool Inc v JFC Group Co Ltd [2010] EWHC 3003 - allocation of jurisdiction - anti-suit injunction - applicable law of guarantees.

Ensco 69 (Com. Ct & Dallas State Court): US$65million insurance claim arising out of the alleged expropriation of an oil rig by the Government of Venezuela. Instructed by London market underwriters in English proceedings seeking to uphold a London arbitration clause, and to provide expert evidence on English law to a Texas Court in opposition to an anti-suit injunction granted to the assured by the Texas court to restrain the English proceedings.

National Ability SA v Tinna Oils and Chemicals Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1330 - Commercial Court and Court of Appeal. It will be the leading case on the limitation period for enforcing arbitration awards.  

ACE Capital Ltd v CMS Energy Corporation [2008] EWHC 1843 (Comm) - Political risk insurance dispute (concerning insured risks in South America), Steven acted for Lloyd’s underwriters in this matter which is now the leading case on the interaction between an arbitration agreement and a US service of suit clause (a standard provision in US insurance policies).

The Noga litigation which lasted over 65 days in front of Rix LJ and concerned freezing relief for $800 million and a dispute over a settlement for US$100 million, and see [2001] 3 AER 513 on the jurisdiction to reconsider, and in the Court of Appeal upon the effect of the declaratory remedy on the need to obtain permission to appeal: Compagnie Noga d'Importation et d'Exportation SA v Abacha (No.3) [2002] C.L.C. 207 (declaration) affirmed [2003] 1 WLR 307, and interpretation of contracts : Compagnie Noga d'Importation et d'Exportation SA v Abacha (No.4) [2003] EWCA Civ 1100 [2003] 2 All E.R. (Comm) 915. For the judgment at first instance see: Compagnie Noga d'Importation et d'Exportation SA v Abacha (No.1) (Reserved Judgment) 2001 WL 542308.

Arkin v Borchard Lines [2003] 2 Ll. Rep 225 - a 40 day trial in the commercial court instructed by P&O - the first case to go to trial seeking damages under articles 81 and 82 of the EU treaty, concerning the effect of these articles in the context of liner shipping conferences and the EU Block Exemption on liner conferences, and Arkin v Borchard Lines No 2 [2004] 1 Ll. Rep. 88 concerning section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 and professional funders, see also Arkin v Borchard Lines Ltd (Costs) [2001] C.P. Rep. 108 (costs and set off) Arkin v Borchard Lines Ltd (Costs: Third Party Proceedings) [2003] EWHC 3088 (2004) 154 N.L.J. 22. Arkin v Borchard Lines Ltd (No.3) [2004] 1 Ll Rep 636.

Petromec Inc. v Petroleo Brasilico S.A Petrobras & Ors case [2004] 1 Ll Rep 629 - concerning the total loss of production platform "P 36", which at one time was one of the largest offshore production platforms in the world, and the interpretation of contracts.

The Fjord Wind [1999] 1 Ll. Rep. 307 and [2000] 2 Ll. Rep.191 - a leading case on Article III rule 1 of the Hague Rules and the obligation of due diligence.

Glencore v Metro No 1 [2001] 1 Ll. Rep 283 - phase 1 of the Metro litigation which is one of the largest case managed cases in the Commercial Court and related to title to oil/bunkers in a floating oil terminal following the insolvency of the storage company, The Metro litigation phase 2 (judgment 1st August 2001).

Hamble Fisheries v L Gardener & Sons [1999] 1 Ll.Rep. 1- on claims for economic loss in tort for loss caused by defective ship's engine manufacture.

Insolvency work includes Re Pinstripe Farming Co Limited [1996] 2 BCLC 295.

Intellectual property work includes the Chiron v Murex litigation.

Yukong Line Ltd of Korea v Rendsburg Investments Corp of Liberia (The Rialto) (Injunctive Relief) [2001] 2 Lloyd's Rep. 113,

Refco v Eastern Trading [1998] 1 Ll. Rep. 159 (injunction in support of federal proceedings);

Yukong v Rendsburg No 2 [1998] 1 WLR 294 - claim on a cross-undertaking in damages and the court's jurisdiction to award damages for losses caused by a freezing order,

Re A Solicitor [1997] Ch 1 (injunction to protect confidential information),

Union Bank v Lelakis [1997] 1 WLR 590 - service out of the jurisdiction of an order for examination about assets,

Allied Irish Bank Plc v Ashford Hotels Ltd [1997] 3 All E.R. 309 (interim receiver)

The Choko Star [1996] 1 WLR 774 (limitation of actions and corporate changes).

Flettamentos v Effjohn [1996] 2 Ll. Rep. 304 (arbitration/jurisdiction)

Balkanbank v Taher Nos 1 and 2 [1995] 1 WLR 1056 and 1067 (litigation relating to the enforcement of a cross-undertaking in damages, and an appeal before the Irish Supreme
Court),

Trade Indemnity v Njord [1995] 1 AER 796 (Brussels Convention).

Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society v Ricketts [1993] 1 WLR 1545 (enforcement of cross-undertaking in damages),

Mercantile Group v Aiyela [1993] FSR 745 (injunction ancillary to enforcement of judgment);

Standard Chartered Bank v Walker [1992] 1 W.L.R. 561

Republic of Haiti v Duvalier [1990] 1 Q.B 202

 

Publications

Steven is the author of the leading practitioners' text on injunctive relief "Commercial Injunctions" (6^th edition to be published soon).  He has also written many articles including the following:

• Demand Guarantees and the Fraud Exception Bankers (2010) Law Vol 3 Nº2 (with Mary Gibbons)
• The Remedies carried by a Freezing Injunction (2006) 122 Law Quarterly Review 535.
• The Autonomy of Arbitrators and Fraud unravels all (2006) 22 Arbitration International 337.
• The Undertaking in Damages (2006) Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 181
• Transactions in Fraud of Creditors: The Foreign Element [2005] International Corporate Rescue (Issue 1) 29 (with Ravi Aswani) ;
• Performance Bonds (2005) Vol 1 Bankers' Law 1 (with Mary Gibbons).
• The Solicitor's duty to warn that a court might take a different view (2003) Vol. 19 Journal of Professional Negligence Vol 19 p.362;
• Interpretation of Commercial Contracts (2001) 117 Law Quarterly Review 358;
• Construing Contracts with Mistakes in them [2001] Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 214;
• Keeping Confidences (1998) Commercial Lawyer 38,
• Mareva Injunctions-the Reforms of the Law made by its Soul [1998] International Journal of Insurance Law 133,
• Mareva Injunctions - the Law (1995) Commercial Lawyer 52,
• Mercedes and Mareva (1995) 139 Solicitors Journal 1076,
• Diving In at the Deep End (1995) Law Society Gazette 23

 

Memberships

The Commercial Bar Association, the LCIA, the ABA, the New York State Bar Association, the International Bar Association, Fellow of the Charterers Institute of Arbitrators, and a supporting member of the London Maritime Arbitrators' Association.

 

Education

Tonbridge School, Harvard University (Logic and Roman History), and Brasenose College, Oxford University, (Open Scholarship in natural Sciences).  MA (Oxon) First Class in Law, Gibbs Prize for Law, Oxford University, Senate of Inns of Court Prize for top placed candidate in bar Exams for England and Wales, Harmsworth Scholarship (Middle Temple).