Judgment in Altrad Investment Authority SAS v Peter D Protopapas and others

The High Court has handed down judgment in Altrad Investment Authority SAS v Protopapas and others [2025] EWHC 2470 (Ch), in which Derrick Dale KC acted as leading counsel for the successful Claimants instructed by Enyo Law LLP.

After an expedited Part 8 trial, Mr Justice Marcus Smith has granted declaratory and injunctive anti-suit relief to the Claimants in relation to a Settlement Agreement entered into by the Altrad Group and the Cape Parties, which related to asbestosis claims made in the courts of South Carolina in the United States against the Cape Parties; and pursuant to which Mr Protopapas (the receiver appointed by the South Carolina Courts over the Cape Parties) had initiated third party proceedings on behalf of the Cape Parties against the Altrad Group.

The stated basis for the third party proceedings was that the parent and associated companies of the Cape Parties were liable for unjust enrichment as they were the relevant Cape Parties’ alter egos and/or that they constituted a single economic unit and/or that the corporate veils of the relevant Cape Parties should be pierced.

The Settlement Agreement involved a settlement and mutual release on the part of the Altrad Group and the Cape Parties of the claims made in the third party proceedings, thereby extinguishing the underlying claim currently being made in the South Carolina Court by Mr Protopapas.

In the South Carolina Court, Mr Protopapas had refused to accept that the Settlement Agreement was legally valid and binding on the Altrad Group and the Cape Parties, as it constituted a “sham” or an “illegitimate device” against those entitled to claim compensation in the US from the Cape Parties.

Mr Justice Marcus Smith dismissed these allegations in their entirety. He found that the acquisition of the Cape Parties by the Altrad Group was on an arm’s length basis where a commercial price was paid. He further held that the directors of the parties had the lawful authority to enter into the Settlement Agreement – building upon the findings of Mann J in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Protopapas [2024] EWHC 2999 (Ch).

Whilst acknowledging that the relief sought had an impact on the processes of a foreign court and that considerations of comity arose, Mr Justice Marcus Smith considered it appropriate to make the orders sought requiring Mr Protopapas to cease to pursue the third party proceedings in the South Carolina Court.

The full judgment can be found here.