PJSC Aeroflot - Russian Airlines V (1) Michael Thomas Leeds, Nicholas Stewart Wood and Kevin John Hellard (as Trustees of the Estate of Boris Berezovsky) (2) Subir Desai (as Representative of the Estate of Nikolay Glushkov appointed under CPR r19.8(1)(b) (3) Forus Holding SA-SPF (4) Forus Leasing SA (in liquidation) (5) Forus Finance Limited

Mrs Justice Rose considered whether she should take into account a refusal to mediate in deciding whether to award costs on an indemnity basis.  She found that "where allegations of fraud and serious wrongdoing are made, the proceedings are intrinsically unsuitable for mediation. To penalise the Forus Defendants in costs for the stance they took would in effect be penalising Mr Glushkov and the Forus Defendants for insisting on their right to have their reputations vindicated by the decisions of the court following a trial."  She also held that there was no possibility of the parties making any progress in alternative dispute resolution given the acrimonious relationship between the parties.

Many a mediator would challenge, in particular, this latter view having successfully mediated "unsettleable" disputes!