Hoogells’ legal victory. Successful defence against a premature resolution of the dispute

Success in court proceedings does not always take the form of a favourable judgement. Sometimes it simply means that a decision is not handed down prematurely. In court proceedings, it is not only the content of the final ruling that is of significance, but also the timing of its delivery. A premature ruling on key procedural issues may lead to the omission of circumstances requiring a full examination of the evidence and may affect the correct assessment of the parties’ liability. An appropriate response to the opposing party’s procedural initiatives often determines the further course of the dispute. A litigation team led by Jordan Zafirow, a solicitor and partner at Hoogells, represented a construction subcontractor in court in a dispute against two entities – participants in an investment project. The opposing party consistently sought a partial judgment and the dismissal of the claim against one of the two defendants, arguing that there was no joint and several liability on their part. The arguments put forward by Hoogells indicated that it would be premature to resolve this issue at this stage of the proceedings, and that an assessment of the scope of the defendants’ liability requires consideration of the full factual and legal circumstances of the case.