Costs
Federal Republic of Nigeria v VR Global Partners LP and others [2026] EWCA Civ 25
The Court of Appeal dismissed Nigeria’s appeal against a Commercial Court judge’s decision to stay Nigeria’s application for a third-party costs order (TPCO) until after completion of detailed assessment proceedings. The case arose after Nigeria had succeeded in having arbitration awards worth US$11bn set aside for serious irregularity, with P&ID ordered to pay Nigeria’s costs. Nigeria sought a TPCO against the VR Capital group companies and its founder who had funded P&ID’s litigation, as P&ID itself had no assets to pay costs. The Court of Appeal held that the judge had provided sufficient reasons for his case management decision and had correctly applied the overriding objective in deciding that the detailed assessment should precede determination of third-party liability. The judge was entitled to conclude that there was a real question whether any further sums would be payable beyond the £20m already paid, making it potentially wasteful to proceed with the TPCO application before knowing the outcome
