Mark Harper KC

Practice Areas

Commercial and Corporate Litigation including shareholder disputes, warranty claims, confidential information, restraint of trade, agency and sports related disputes. Partnership. Sports Law, Banking and Finance Litigation and Professional Negligence (solicitors, accountants and financial advisers).

Career

Silk appointment in 2016, Call 1993; Pupillage at Kings Chambers.

Publications

Northern Business and Property Bar Association

Work Highlights

RECENT REPORTED CASES

Hodgson v Creation Consumer Finance Ltd [2021] EWHC 2167 (Comm) – acting for the C in a test case in which it was alleged and found that a supplier of solar panels had made misrepresentations as to the performance of the solar panels and that the company financing the purchase were liable for the same. Case also deals with approach to assessment of damages in such cases.

Taylor Goodchild Ltd v Taylor [2021] EWCA Civ 1135 – application of Henderson v Henderson abuse of process to claims pursued by a company against a former director/shareholder where there had been a determined unfair prejudice petition in which the facts giving rise to the claims were live. Important decision for those advising or acting for parties to unfair prejudice claims.

Re Macom GmBH (UK) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1661 – unfair prejudice petition by (unusually) majority shareholder for breaches of shareholders agreement. Court found petition established but declined to make a buy-out order and instead imposed a management order

Ardent Advisors Ltd v UK Web Media Ltd & others [2021] EWHC 63 – construction of payment calculation mechanism in corporate finance advisor agreement

AAA &BBB v CCC [2020] EWCA Civ 846. successfully represented the Respondent. The appeal was from a final injunction granted by HHJ Eyre KC on the Respondents’ summary judgment application (on which Mark also acted) to enforce the confidentiality, non-disparagement and privacy obligations contained in Share Purchase and Employee Compromise Agreements. On appeal the Court considered the question(s) as to the width of the relief granted and the certainty of the terms used in the injunction and the underlying agreements.

Re Jones [2020] EWHC 1112 (Ch) – statutory demand in respect of unpaid directors’ loan account where an issue as to whether or not loans drawn in the anticipation of dividends could be recovered where dividends did not materialise.

Zavarco Plc v Nasir [2017] EWHC 2877 – requirement for subscriber shares of €36 million to be paid in cash and the interaction between sections 584, 593 and 594 CA 2006

Re Capital Funding One Limited (in Administration) [2017] EWHC 3567 – issue as to what were the applicable repayment terms under a loan and therefore whether or not Administrators had been validly appointed

Utilise TDS Ltd v Neil Davies & others [2016] EWHC 2127 – whether or not an implied term reserving the Cs’ rights to proceed with claims against other defendants was to be implied into a contract of settlement