Commercial Litigation UK

  • September 26, 2024

    Syrian Refugees' Terror Finance Case At Risk Over Costs

    Syrian refugees must provide £1.6 million ($2.2 million) in security or risk having their case dismissed against two major Qatari banks they accuse of waging a "campaign of intimidation" because of their claims that the lenders funded a terrorist group.

  • September 26, 2024

    ECJ Backs Strong Protection For Lawyer-Client Discussions

    Confidentiality of lawyer-client communications has enhanced protection under European Union law, including in cross-border tax disclosures, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday.

  • September 26, 2024

    Sanctioned Billionaire Beats Claim Over $1B PhosAgro Stake

    A Russian oligarch has lost his case accusing a former friend of unlawfully taking away his stake in a £3.7 billion ($5 billion) fertilizer business, as a London court found on Thursday that his claim to have been granted the share in a handshake agreement was implausible.

  • September 26, 2024

    Ex-Linklaters Pro Accused Of Lying To Dodge $25M Judgment

    A former partner at Linklaters LLP forged documents in an attempt to avoid handing over two homes to settle a $25 million judgment against him, lawyers representing a Saudi princess told a London court on Thursday.

  • September 26, 2024

    Son Hits Back At Father In Spat Over Parking Software

    A former director of a parking company has hit back in a copyright battle with his father over the ownership of software, claiming that the rival business shut him out and took his technology.

  • September 26, 2024

    Cineworld Exec Says Chain Tried To Avoid Restructuring Plan

    A Cineworld executive said Thursday that he had not anticipated that the cinema chain's financial woes would lead to a U.K. restructuring plan, as he gave evidence at a London court seeking approval for a plan to prevent the business from falling into administration.

  • September 25, 2024

    Barry Manilow Sued By Hipgnosis Over Sony Royalties

    Music rights heavyweight Hipgnosis has sued Barry Manilow in London for allegedly failing to pay it royalties after Sony Records paid the American singer for his recordings, violating a more than $7.5 million deal that saw Hipgnosis acquire his catalog of 917 songs.

  • September 25, 2024

    HSF, BAT Prove EU Wrongly Denied Access To Tobacco Data

    Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and a British American Tobacco unit on Wednesday scored partial victories when a European Union court ruled that officials wrongly withheld certain data contributing to the bloc's decision to tighten regulations on heated tobacco.

  • September 25, 2024

    Music Rights Collective Fights Bands' Antitrust Claim

    The Performing Right Society has denied abusing a dominant market position by imposing fees and requirements on artists, hitting back at a claim by three rock bands and their rights management company.

  • September 25, 2024

    Pump Court Can't Keep £2.75M Embezzlement Case Private

    A London judge refused Wednesday to hear a case about the embezzlement of £2.75 million ($3.67 million) in barrister fees in private, ruling that the interests of open justice trumped those of Pump Court Chambers.

  • September 25, 2024

    Foster Carer Wrongfully Dismissed Over Unreported Incident

    A home care provider wrongfully fired a project manager for failing to report an incident involving a disabled adult, an employment tribunal ruled, saying there was no policy prohibiting the use of physical restraint.

  • September 25, 2024

    Pfizer, BioNTech Get New Shot To Ax Moderna's MRNA Patent

    Pfizer and BioNTech have won another shot at challenging the validity of one of Moderna's key mRNA vaccines as a judge ruled Wednesday that their appeal had a reasonable prospect of success.

  • September 25, 2024

    Crypto-Investors Can't Appeal Parts Of £10B Class Action

    The Competition Appeal Tribunal has denied crypto-investors permission to challenge its decision to dismiss parts of their claim over the approval of a £9.9 billion ($13 billion) collective action against Binance and other trading platforms.

  • September 25, 2024

    TSB Wins Early Round In £800M 'Mortgage Prisoners' Case

    A group of former Northern Rock customers has lost the initial round of an £800 million ($1.1 billion) group action against TSB Bank PLC, as a London court ruled on Wednesday that the lender that bought their loans did not breach their mortgage contracts.

  • September 24, 2024

    Ukraine Oil Co. Says Russia Can't Buy Time In $5B Award Suit

    Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company has asked a D.C. federal court not to pause its lawsuit to enforce a $5 billion arbitral award against Russia while set-aside proceedings in the Netherlands play out, arguing that the Kremlin is just stalling.

  • September 24, 2024

    Pilates Co. Stretches Patent Campaign To ITC

    A San Francisco pilates equipment maker has persuaded the U.S. International Trade Commission to hear its patent infringement case against an assortment of companies that one of its lawyers calls "Chinese knockoff artists."

  • September 24, 2024

    Apple, Amazon Say Funding Sinks £500M Price Fixing Claim

    Apple and Amazon urged a London tribunal on Tuesday to dismiss a consumer advocate's £500 million ($669.3 million) price fixing class action, arguing that her funding agreements disqualify her from representing the class.

  • September 24, 2024

    Axed Exec Can Fight £148K Costs After Losing Tribunal Claim

    A London appeals judge on Tuesday handed the sacked finance director of a toymaker a shot at cutting the £147,600 ($197,600) total costs a tribunal awarded against him following his failed unfair dismissal claim.

  • September 24, 2024

    Police Sergeant Wins £1.1M In Disability Discrimination Case

    A tribunal has ordered a police force to pay a former sergeant more than £1.1 million ($1.5 million) for forcing her to quit when it withdrew permission to run a hobby business that helped her cope with work stress and PTSD.

  • September 24, 2024

    Barrister Faces Tribunal Over Drinking Beer Before Trial

    The watchdog for English barristers told a disciplinary tribunal on Tuesday that a lawyer behaved in a way that is likely to undermine his integrity by drinking a pint of beer before prosecuting a criminal case in court.

  • September 24, 2024

    Water Firms Say £800M Sewage Case Is Unfit For Class Action

    Six water companies argued before Britain's antitrust tribunal on Thursday that an £800 million ($1 billion) claim accusing them of underreporting sewage spills should not be certified as a class action, asserting that their status as "statutory monopolists" exempts them from competition law.

  • September 24, 2024

    Warehouse Worker Called 'Scum' Wins Discrimination Case

    A warehouse operator for online retailer The Hut who was told that she was "dirty scum" after sitting on a trolley to tie a shoelace, was harassed and faced direct discrimination against as a woman, an employment tribunal has ruled.

  • September 24, 2024

    Union Lawyer Wins Appeal Over Whistleblowing Email

    A tribunal wrongly tossed an employment solicitor's claim of victimization against a trade union after mistakenly ruling that the lawyer had not met the required burden of proof, a London appeals judge has ruled.

  • September 24, 2024

    UK's Courts Become Fertile Ground For Climate Activists

    Litigation over a changing climate is growing in popularity, a study has shown, and recent rulings have set significant precedents. Here, Law360 meets some of the lawyers in London involved in the fight.

  • September 23, 2024

    MPs Call On Asda Bosses To Settle Equal Pay Dispute

    Nearly 160 members of Parliament have called on the owner of British supermarket giant Asda Stores Ltd. to settle the chain's ongoing equal-pay claim with over 60,000 retail staff members, the union representing the workers announced Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know About The EU Residency Scheme Changes

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    The U.K. government recently announced extensions to residency status under the EU Settlement Scheme, which is a net positive for U.K.-EU relations and will be welcomed by those affected, including employers concerned about losing employees with expired permission, say Claire Nilson and Abilio Jaribu at Faegre Drinker.

  • High Court Dechert Ruling Offers Litigation Privilege Lessons

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    While the recent High Court ruling in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, which concerned torture conspiracy allegations against the firm, held that litigation privilege can be claimed by a nonparty to proceedings, the exact boundaries of privilege aren't always clear-cut and may necessitate analyzing the underlying principles, says Scott Speirs at Norton Rose.

  • What To Know About AI Fraudsters Before Facing Disputes

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    The potential of artificial intelligence to augment fraudsters' efforts is arguably unprecedented, so lawyers will swiftly need to become familiar with the fundamentals of AI to deal with it in the context of disputes, says Daniel Wyatt and Christopher Whitehouse at RPC.

  • UK Insolvency Reform Review Shows Measures Are Working

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    The U.K. Insolvency Service's recently published review of legislative reforms to the corporate insolvency regime demonstrates that despite being underutilized, the measures have been shown to help viable companies survive, and with the current difficult economic environment, will likely be an important aspect of organizational restructuring going forward, says Kirsten Fulton-Fleming at Taylor Wessing.

  • More UK Collective Actions On The Horizon After Forex Ruling

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    A U.K. appeals court's recent decision in Forex case Evans v. Barclays is likely to significantly widen the scope of opt-out collective proceedings that can be brought, paving the way for more class actions by prospective claimants who have previously been unable to bring individual claims, say Robin Henry and Tamara Davis at Collyer Bristow.

  • How Russia Sanctions May Complicate Contract Obligations

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    Against the backdrop of recent comprehensive sanctions against Russia and Belarus, a review of recent U.K. case law clarifies that certain force majeure clauses likely cover trade sanctions, and that future litigation will further develop the scope of force majeure and frustration in the context of sanctions, says Frances Jenkins at Quillon Law.

  • New Guidance Offers Clarity For Charities On ESG Investing

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    The need for charities to understand investing in line with environmental, social and governance aspirations has never been more pressing, and recently updated U.K. Charity Commission guidance should give trustees confidence to make decisions that are right for their organization, says Robert Nieri at Shoosmiths.

  • Taking Stock Of Company Climate Duties After ClientEarth

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    Despite the High Court's recent dismissal of ClientEarth v. Shell, the case nonetheless has key consequences for companies that are susceptible to being targeted by nonprofit activists as environmental, social and corporate governance lawfare continues, says Dan Harris at Chancery Advisors.

  • Copyright Cheat Sheet: Finding Substantially Similar Songs

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    Using the recent copyright infringement case against Ed Sheeran over his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" as a case study, forensic musicologist Ethan Lustig provides an overview for attorneys of which musical elements do and do not, when altered, create the sense of a new or distinct composition — a determination increasingly sought from experts in court.

  • Lessons On Cricket Patent History And IP Protection At UPC

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    On the heels of the creation of the Unified Patent Court in Europe, Susan Bradley at Marks & Clerk looks at how its development is interwoven with the history of cricket, and why inventors in that field have always taken advantage of the latest developments in intellectual property protection.

  • FCA Case Failures Highlight Value Of Robust Investigation

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    The recent U.K. upper tribunal judgment in Seiler, Whitestone and Raitzin v. The Financial Conduct Authority, criticizing the regulator for accepting a narrative advanced by the firm, makes clear that such admissions must not get in the way of a proper investigation to enable agencies to target the correct individuals, say Tom Bushnell and Olivia Dwan at Hickman & Rose.

  • Reputation Management Lessons From Spacey Case

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    While a U.K. jury recently acquitted actor Kevin Spacey of sexual assault charges, his reputation has been harmed, illustrating the importance for lawyers to balance a client's right to privacy with media engagement throughout the criminal process, says Jessica Welch at Simkins.

  • Factors To Consider In Protecting Software With Trade Secrets

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    With trade secrets protecting subject matter that would not otherwise be eligible for a patent now a mainstay of many multinationals’ intellectual property strategies, software developers have a number of considerations in deciding whether this is a viable alternative to protect their invention, says Dave Clark at Potter Clarkson.

  • What ClientEarth Ruling Means For Shareholder Climate Suits

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    The High Court recently confirmed its earlier decision in ClientEarth v. Shell, illustrating that environmental groups seeking to bring a derivative action against corporate directors' strategic decision making may find it challenging to obtain admissible evidence to establish a prima facie case of a breach, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.

  • Directors Should Beware Reinvigorated UK Insolvency Service

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    The recent lengthy disqualification of Carillion directors serves as a salutary lesson to executives on the level of third-party scrutiny to which their actions may be exposed, and a reminder that the directors’ fiduciary duty to creditors is paramount once a company is irretrievably insolvent, says Ben Drew at Fladgate.

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