Seven of the former partners involved in the dispute — which centres on the repayment of profits — issued an application last month to involve Crossley (pictured) and former senior partner Richard Burns in proceedings.
Until now the ex-partners’ dispute has only involved the firm as a whole rather than individuals but, by adding the pair to proceedings, the group hopes to be able to pursue a case with management, if they were to lose their dispute with the firm. Herbert Smith disputes partner Gary Milner-Moore has been instructed to act for Crossley and Burns.
The application to bring the management pair into the action has been put on hold after Burns passed away last month (20 May) but it is thought that it could be extended to Burns’ estate.
The next update is likely to come at a three-day preliminary hearing due to take place later this year to deal with partnership deed issues. The hearing was confirmed at a case management conference last week (4 June).
The case management hearing also revealed that three former partners — Mark Newcombe, Gerrard O’Neil and Dermot Preston — have settled their disputes with the firm. They join Nigel Proctor and Jonathan Moore who had already settled with the firm, leaving nine ex-partners involved in the dispute.
Addleshaws is acting for seven of the nine remaining defendants on the dispute, which relates to an alleged breach of the partnership agreement, with the ex-partners refusing to pay back anticipated profits over a two-year period to 2005.
One partnership expert said it appeared that it was being alleged that there had been a breach of warranty of authority to the extent that management exceeded their brief. He said: “It is not surprising that something like this has happened. It maximises the pressure and creates a fall-back if the action against the firm does not work.”