Pia Dutton

Practice Overview

Pia’s practice covers a broad range of commercial litigation with particular focus on banking, commercial disputes, civil fraud and professional negligence.  She is noted in Legal 500 for her involvement in high profile professional negligence claims representing leading law firms and financial institutions.  Pia also has experience in matters involving company, insolvency and regulatory law.  She is led in complex, high-value, commercial disputes, including appearances in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.  She has also appeared as sole advocate in trials and applications in the High Court and County Courts.  Pia is instructed to appear in two trials due to be heard later in 2023, both involving serious allegations of fraud, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt.

Before joining Chambers, Pia worked and studied in a number of different jurisdictions. After completing her LL.M at the University of Chicago Law School, and the BCL at Oxford, she taught international law and published work on Burmese politics whilst working for the Burma Lawyer's Council on the Thai Burma border. In 2012, she acted as foreign law clerk to Mr Justice Edwin Cameron at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and in 2013 she moved to New York to complete an internship in the Commercial Litigation and Appeals departments of Jones Day.

Notable and recent cases include:

• Tonstate Group Ltd et ors v Mishcon de Reya LLP– Pia (led by Jamie Smith KC) is representing a leading law firm in litigation brought by Tonstate Group Limited and associated companies.  Thus far, Pia and Jamie have successfully defended an application for summary judgment on a claim for knowing receipt.
• Old Park Capital Maestro Fund Limited v Old Park Capital et ors – Pia, led by William Edwards, is acting in a trial, due to be heard later in 2023, involving allegations of fraud and breach of directors’ duties against a former director of an investment fund.
• Endcape Limited v Musgrave Generators Limited – Pia acted as sole advocate in a four-day High Court trial on behalf of the Defendant.  She was partially successful in defending a claim under an alleged agreement purportedly relating to the sale of certain stock: see [2022] EWHC 2972.
• School Facility Management Ltd et ors v Christ the King College et anor– Pia (led by Timothy Straker KC) represented SFM in a trial involving a dispute over whether or not a Hire Contract for a modular building constituted a finance or operating lease.  Foxton J held that the Contract was a finance lease and therefore ultra vires the College, but that the College was nevertheless liable to SFM for restitution of unjust enrichment for the period in which it had not paid SFM for use of the building: see [2020] EWHC 1118 (Comm).  The College appealed the award of restitutionary damages and Pia (led by Simon Salzedo KC) successfully argued that the principle of counter restitution did not apply in this case so as to bar SFM’s claim for restitution of unjust enrichment: see [2021] 1 WLR 6129.
• NOx Emissions Litigation – Pia (led by Adam Kramer KC and Ben Jaffey KC) is instructed on cases involving allegations of the use of unlawful defeat devices in emissions control systems employed by a number of high-profile vehicle manufacturers.
• Addlesee et ors v Dentons Europe LLP – Pia (led by Patrick Lawrence KC) was instructed on a dispute involving allegations of deceit and dishonest assistance against a law firm.
• Duet Capital Holdings Ltd – Pia (led by Jamie Riley KC) successfully obtained a freezing injunction with a limit of £20 million against a former director of the Company and related subsidiaries.
• CFH Clearing Ltd v Merrill Lynch International [2020] EWCA Civ 1064 - Pia (led by Andrew Twigger KC) successfully applied for summary judgment against a claim for an alleged breach of duty to retrospectively adjust the price of 27 spot FX trades which took place during a period of severe market volatility.  CFH appealed the decision of Moulder J to summarily dismiss the claim: [2019] EWHC 963 (Comm).  Pia and Andrew successfully defended the decision below in the Court of Appeal: see [2020] EWCA Civ 1064.
• RIFW v Amber – Pia (led by Peter Ratcliffe and Jonathan Whitting KC) acted for the Welsh government in professional negligence claims arising from the management of a property/regeneration fund.
• Toys “R” Us Limited (In Administration) – Pia (led by Adrian Beltrami KC) was instructed on an application by the Administrators for directions in respect of a floating charge created by Debenture entered into between a company and collateral trustee.
• McAfee v DSG Retail Ltd – Pia (led by Jonathan Nash KC) was instructed by McAfee in respect of allegations against Dixons for breach of a Retail Software and License Agreement.
• GPP Big Field LLP v Solar EPC Solutions SL [2018] EWHC 2866 (Comm) – Pia (led by Matthew Parker KC) successfully acted in a trial in the Commercial Court for investors in five solar plants seeking recovery of sums due under EPC contracts for their construction.
• Shulman v Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky [2018] EWHC 160 (Ch) - Pia (led by Ali Malek KC and Conall Patton KC) acted for Mr Bogolyubov in a successful application challenging the English Court’s jurisdiction to try a claim by Mr Shulman against him and Mr Kolomoisky.
• Impact Funding Solutions v AIG Europe Insurance Limited [2016] UKSC 57 - Pia (led by Timothy Dutton CBE, KC and Richard Chapman KC) acted as junior counsel in the Supreme Court.  The case concerned whether Impact, as lender to clients of solicitor firms, was able to recover under the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 against the insurer under the terms of the professional indemnity insurance policy after the firm went into liquidation.
• Dinglis Properties Limited v Dinglis Management Limited - Pia (led by David Peters) represented Dinglis Management Limited in a two-week trial in the Chancery Division defending a high-value claim for fraud.  Pia and David were also successful in obtaining the discharge of a Freezing order in these proceedings: Dinglis Properties Limited v. Dinglis Management Limited [2016] 4 W.L.R. 72. Pia is still instructed on a related piece of litigation involving a claim by Dinglis Properties Limited against Dinglis Estates Limited for breach of an alleged loan agreement.