Over recent years there has been an increasing trend to resort to committal applications in complex and heavy commercial litigation. The Civil Procedure Rules governing contempt applications have also been revised, and came into effect in October 2020.

Contempt in Commercial Litigation covers:

Substantive law in situations most commonly found in commercial cases
For example breaches of freezing injunctions (in particular the obligations to disclose, and not to deal with, assets) because that is the context in which a number of contempt applications are made. Other scenarios are also covered, such as anti-suit injunctions, search orders, obligations of disclosure and false evidence in witness statements and affidavits.

Procedural rules
Coverage of the relevant procedural rules applicable to contempt applications, including consideration of the new Part 81 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Tactical considerations and practical recommendations
With contempt applications increasing, but having been relatively rare until recently, there are quite a few areas of uncertainty as to how contempt applications should be dealt with. This part of the book looks at tactical considerations on the part of both the claimant and the defendant and examines issues such as when to bring a contempt application, applying to strike-out contempt proceedings and whether a defendant should give evidence in response to the application.

Sentencing
Includes all the relevant reported cases over a period of time and looks at the sentences imposed in each case.

Contempt in Commercial Litigation is essential reading for practitioners in England and Wales, in particular commercial litigators who may not deal with fraud cases day-to-day, as well as appealing to foreign lawyers and advisers who are litigating, or contemplating bringing claims, in England.

Jason Woodland is a partner in the Commercial Litigation, Civil Fraud and Asset Tracing department and Peters and Peters.

He specialises in heavy-weight commercial and competition/anti-trust litigation, and arbitration. Many of Jason's cases involve allegations of fraud and Jason has significant experience of tracing and recovering the proceeds of fraud on behalf of claimants. He regularly acts in cases involving emergency injunctive relief such as freezing injunctions and search orders.

Jason also represents defendants to civil proceedings, and has particular expertise in dealing with civil claims where there is a parallel criminal investigation.

Much of Jason's work has an international element, and Jason is used to co-ordinating litigation in a number of different jurisdictions. His clients range from governments and multi-national corporations to privately owned companies and individuals.

His arbitration experience includes proceedings under ICC, UNCITRAL and LCIA rules as well as ad hoc arbitrations.

Jason is recommended for competition litigation by the Legal 500 2015 a "rising star of competition litigation" and Legal 500 2014 as offering "a safe pair of hands to deal with a dispute, however urgent, difficult or contentious".