Cyprus: "Permission to continue” under the new 2023 civil procedure rules – District Court provides clarity

 

We are pleased to share the following news from our member firm in Nicosia, Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co:

Our Dispute Resolution team has successfully defended our clients in a complex corporate litigation matter, securing a judgment rejecting permission to continue a derivative action against our clients.

This is one of the first judgments in Cyprus on derivative actions under the new 2023 rules.

The Court addressed, for the first time, the requirement for a claimant to obtain “permission to continue” a derivative action by demonstrating a prima facie case.

The case was also interesting in it was a quia timet derivative action, and as the court noted, case-law was scarce not only in Cyprus but also other common-law jurisdictions.

The District Court of Nicosia dismissed the claim in its entirety, concluding that the claimant had failed to establish a prima facie case. The Court also discharged the interim injunctions previously issued in the proceedings, holding that in light of rejecting permission to continue action, there was no longer and legal basis for granting.

This ruling provides much needed clarity on the new test of “prima facie case” introduced by the 2023 Civil Procedure Rules and underscores that abuse of such proceedings will be discouraged, as abusive proceedings will be curtailed from the outset rather than after full hearing on the matter.

For further information on this judgment and its implications, please contact our dispute resolution team.

 

For further information, please contact:

Dimitris Papadopoulos, Partner

Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co LLC, Nicosia

e: dimitris@paplyclaw.com

t:  +357 22 676 127

 

#WLNadvocate #PapLycLaw #CorporateLaw #Litigation #LegalVictory #DisputeResolution #LandmarkCase #CyprusLaw