Enyo Law has successfully acted for the defendant in Spread Research v Tech RealFX Ltd [2026] EWHC 1221 (Comm), securing a decisive Commercial Court ruling setting aside permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction and bringing the claim (seeking USD98 million in damages) to an end at an early stage.

The judgment serves to reinforce the importance of early strategic steps in defence of unmeritorious claims. It provides a clear and robust restatement of key principles governing jurisdiction challenges, particularly where, on receipt of the jurisdiction challenge, a previously active claimant disinstructs its solicitors and stops engaging with the proceedings. The Court reaffirmed that the burden remains on the claimant throughout to establish that the English court has jurisdiction and that a challenge to service out is effectively a rehearing of the original application. In circumstances where the claimants failed to appear or advance any case at the hearing, they could not discharge that burden, and the claim was dismissed. The Court also ordered indemnity costs in favour of the defendant, finding the claimants’ conduct, in commencing proceedings but taking no part thereafter, unreasonable to a high degree.

The Enyo Law team was Nick Jones, Oliver Rule, Krupa Vekaria and Victoria Rea.