Next Monday, 4th February 2013, in the Court of Appeal in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, the appeal by Paddy McKillen against the curious judgment by the British High Court last August 2012 will commence. There will be a scene-setting blogpost later in the week, but this morning, it has been announced by Paddy Killen’s spokesperson that Lord Goldsmith QC has joined Paddy’s team. Peter Goldsmith served as the UK’s Attorney General between 2002 and 2007 and his engagement indicates the seriousness of the huge stakes in the case, which at its heart is about control of the Maybourne group of luxury London hotels – Claridge’s, the Connaught and the Berkeley – and the battle between the billionaire Barclay twins and the scrappy developer and businessman, Paddy McKillen.
Paddy’s spokesperson this morning also stated that the current representation includes Philip Marshall QC, Richard Hill QC – QC, or “Queens Counsel” is roughly equivalent to our SC or senior counsel – and barrister Gregory Denton-Cox.
If Paddy comes out on top this will be a right poke in the eye for NAMA, after all it is the Barclay’s and NAMA v McKillen. My money is on Paddy.
@Robert, it should be said that NAMA don’t form part of the appeal next week. Paddy lost the NAMA strand of the case, as far as the UK is concerned. The appeal courts refused to take the NAMA strand of the case saying it was really a matter for a “foreign jurisdiction”
Paddy lost comprehensively at the High Court against the Barclays, so he is probably on the back-foot as far as the appeal goes, but as Paddy proved at the Supreme Court in Ireland in his landmark case against NAMA, it’s not over until the most senior judges have sung their judgments.