December 14, 2020 Court of First Instance -Orders
Claim No: CFI 029/2020
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
BETWEEN
MS ALEXANDRA WILSON
and
(1) SIMMONS & SIMMONS MIDDLE EAST LLP
(2) MR SYED RAZA ABBAS RIZVI
Defendants
ORDER OF JUDICIAL OFFICER MAHA AL MEHAIRI
UPON reviewing the Court file
AND UPON reading the Case Management Order of Deputy Registrar Ayesha Bin Kalban dated 23 November 2020
AND UPON reviewing the Rules of the DIFC Courts (“RDC”)
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. The Parties have agreed to attend judicial mediation upon the terms and conditions set out below (the “Mediation“).
2. The Mediation is listed before Judicial Officer Maha Al Mehairi (“Mediator“) at 12.00pm on Tuesday 15 December 2020.
3. The Mediation is set for two hours and will be conducted remotely, via court-provided video link.
4. The Parties will attempt to settle the dispute by Mediation. The Parties undertake to participate in the Mediation in good faith in an attempt to resolve the dispute. All documents and conversations prepared or taking place for the purpose of the Mediation shall be confidential.
5. The Parties’ representatives and their legal advisors, and the Mediator, will attend at the Mediation.
6. The attendees and their respective legal advisors at the Mediation shall be as follows:
(a) Alexandra Wilson, and her legal advisor, Emily Aryeetey of Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP;
(b) Victoria Grundy, for Simmons & Simmons Middle East LLP, and their legal advisor, Rebecca Ford of Clyde & Co LLP; and
(c) Syed Raza Abbas Rizvi, and his legal advisor, Rebecca Ford of Clyde & Co LLP.
7. The Parties’ legal advisors will immediately notify each other and the Mediator if there shall be any change in the representation of the Parties at the Mediation, and shall at the same time identify the status of any new representatives.
8. Any attendee from the First Defendant, Simmons & Simmons Middle East LLP, must have authority to agree a settlement on its behalf.
9. No other person shall attend the Mediation without the prior consent of the Parties and the Mediator.
10. The Mediator:
(a) will read before the Mediation the Case Management Bundle;
(b) will seek to assist the Parties in compromising and settling the dispute by a process of conciliation and discussion during the course of the Mediation;
(c) will not engage in any case management or directions proceedings, and will not preside over any matter relating to this case in the event that the mediation is unsuccessful; and
(d) will maintain and respect the confidentially of all information provided to her by the Parties such that where a Party privately discloses to the Mediator any information in confidence before, during or after the Mediation, the Mediator will not disclose that information to any other Party or person without the consent of the Party disclosing it.
11. The Court shall make available separate virtual rooms or video links to enable the Claimant and the Defendants to meet with the Mediator individually and for the Parties to meet each other together with the Mediator at an opening plenary and subsequent virtual round-table meetings over the course of the Mediation as and when the Parties and the Mediator agree is appropriate.
12. At the opening of the Mediation, the Parties should be invited to meet the Mediator and each other for a virtual plenary meeting at which the Mediatory may outline the Mediation process and any expectations of the Parties and each Party shall, at its option, have the right to make an address to the Mediator lasting no longer than 15 minutes.
13. Following the opening plenary meeting, the Parties shall withdraw to their own virtual rooms and the Mediator shall speak to the Parties separately to understand what each side wishes to achieve, to manage expectations, and to help the parties move to reach agreement.
14. No stenographic, audio or visual record or transcript of the Mediation shall be made.
15. The Mediator shall have control of the overall conduct of the Mediation and shall be entitled to make such direction about the procedure to be followed at the Mediation as he thinks appropriate.
16. Any documents (which include anything upon which evidence is recorded including tapes and computer discs) or other information produced for, or arising in relation to the Mediation (excluding the Case Management Bundle) will be privileged and will not be admissible as evidence and will not be disclosable in any litigation or arbitration connected with the dispute unless such documents or information would in any event be admissible or disclosable in such proceedings.
17. Every person involved in the Mediation shall keep confidential and shall not use for any collateral or ulterior purpose:
(a) all information (oral, written or otherwise) produced for, or given in the course of, or arising in relation to, the Mediation; and
(b) the fact of, and the terms of, any settlement agreement made in the course of the Mediation,
including but not limited to any further stages of the case, save where use or disclosure is required by law, or is limited to the Parties informing the Court the fact that the Mediation is to take place or has taken place, or is necessary to implement or to enforce terms of settlement or to notify the Party’s insurers or other professional advisers.
18. Any settlement reached in the Mediation will not be legally binding unless and until it has been recorded in writing and has been signed by an authorised representative on behalf of the Parties.
19. None of the Parties will call the Mediator, nor will seek to procure the attendance of the Mediator, as a witness in any litigation or arbitration relating to the dispute or to whether or not the dispute has been settled. Nor shall any of the Parties call or appoint the Mediator as a consultant, arbitrator or expert in any such litigation or arbitration.
20. At the conclusion of the Mediation, at the written request of any of the Parties, any written materials or documentation furnished to the Mediator or to another Party shall be returned within 7 days of that request, without the Mediator or the Party returning such materials or documentation retaining copies thereof.
21. The Parties shall not rely upon, or introduce as evidence in any arbitral or judicial proceedings, any admissions, proposals or views expressed by the Parties or by the Mediator during the course of the Mediation.
22. The Mediation shall terminate when any of the following events occurs:
(a) a Party withdraws from the Mediation by giving notice of withdrawal to the Mediator and to each of the other Parties;
(b) a written settlement resolving the entirety of the dispute is signed by the Parties;
(c) the Mediator decides that continuing the Mediation is unlikely to result in a settlement or that it is undesirable or inappropriate for any other reason to continue with the Mediation; or
(d) the Mediator decides that he should retire for any reason.
23. Each Party shall pay its own costs and expenses arising out of the Mediation.
24. Without prejudice to paragraph 17, if either Party is approached before the Mediation by any member of the press or any third party (save for any regulator, enforcement agency or prosecutor) for any statement or comment related to the proceedings, the Parties agree to state “no comment”.
Issued by:
Nour Hineidi
Registrar
Date of issue: 14 December 2020
At: 2pm
