Herbert Smith acts on Shell FSA challenge
Legal Week reports
September 15, 2004 at 08:03 PM
2 minute read
Herbert Smith has been instructed by Shell's former chairman Sir Philip Watts to handle a ground-breaking challenge of the Financial Services Authority's (FSA's) powers.
Herbert Smith litigation partner Sonia Leydecker and consultant Martyn Hopper are working on the case, which is understood to be the first of its kind.
Watts, who resigned as chairman of the oil giant in March, claims the FSA breached section 393 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and caused subsequent harm in a regulatory notice issued on 24 August after an investigation into Shell.
In a letter to the FSA from Herbert Smith issued today (16 September) on behalf of Watts, the firm alleges the FSA is breach of its statutory obligations to ensure a fair process and that its findings are flawed.
A public hearing is now due in the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal, an independent body for disputes of this kind. The case is thought to be the first time the FSA has been challenged before the tribunal for breaching its obligations to a third party.
The letter reads: "The FSA has breached its obligations under section 393… by making findings which both identify and prejudice our client, Sir Philip Watts, and by unfairly denying him his right to make representations and review the evidence… prior to their publication."
The challenge is the latest episode in the row over Shell's governance, which has been in the spotlight since the company admitted it had overstated its oil reserves.
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