Tom De Vecchi and Sophia Dzwig successfully act for a defendant group in the first preliminary issue trial in the SKAT litigation

Tom De Vecchi and Sophia Dzwig, instructed by Richard Twomey and Joshua Fineman of DWF Law LLP, have successfully acted on behalf of a defendant group in the first preliminary issues trial in the SKAT litigation. Andrew Baker J has dismissed the Danish customs and tax administration’s (SKAT) £1.5bn fraud, negligence and unjust enrichment claims after a 4-day preliminary issue trial on a point of law. Four represented defendant groups made submissions at the trial, together with five unrepresented individual defendants.

The Judge held that SKAT’s claims breached the public international law rule against the enforcement of foreign revenue laws in the English courts (the “Revenue Rule” or “Dicey Rule 3″) and were all therefore inadmissible in the English courts.

The case was one of the largest in the Commercial Court’s history, and featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2021. Five claims had been issued, against 114 defendants. There had been 10 effective CMCs in the case since January 2020. Andrew Onslow QC, David Head QC, Tom De Vecchi and Sophia Dzwig were instructed by the DWF Defendants and (variously) appeared at these hearings. The claims were listed for another 4-6 week preliminary issue trial beginning in October 2021, and a main trial beginning in January 2023 listed for an entire court year.

Tom De Vecchi and Sophia Dzwig appeared with Alison Macdonald QC and Luke Tattersall.