Golden Plc is a company incorporated in England and Wales. It is involved in the mining of gold and other precious stones and metals in various countries around the world. Uran Ltd is a company incorporated in Ruritania and is 100% owned by Golden Plc. The sole business of Uran Ltd is a vast uranium mine in Ruritania employing over 3,000 workers.

In the last couple of years, a number of workers have developed lung cancer and they claimed that it was due to exposure at the mine to dangerous levels of radioactive radon gas. 800 workers want to sue both Uran Ltd and Golden Plc in the English courts for damages in the tort for negligence. The wish to bring the claim in England because:

(a) they are concerned that, due to the large number of litigants involved and the complexity of the scientific and legal issues, the courts of Ruritania will not have the material and human resources to deal with a claim of this size;

(b) they do not have the money required to bring the claim in Ruritania, where there is no legal aid and no contingency fee arrangement (which is available in England);

(c) they have been advised that if they win the case the amount of damages that the court will award each of them in Ruritania will be a maximum of 300,000, but in England it could be up to 400,000;

(d) they are concerned that the judges in Ruritania are corrupt; and

(e) they are also very concerned that the judges in Ruritania are not independent of the government since they are appointed, promoted, retired and dismissed by the President of Ruritania. The workers have issued and served a claim on Golden Plc by leaving it at Golden Plc's registered address in England. They have obtained permission from the English court to serve the claim abroad on Uran Ltd on the basis that Uran Ltd is a necessary and proper party to the claim against Golden Plc. Uran Ltd has applied to the English court for an order setting aside the permission for service abroad and for a declaration that the English court does not have jurisdiction to try the case.

Advise the claimants.