Commercial Litigation UK

  • 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.

  • September 23, 2024

    Online Gambling Co. Must Publicize It Plagiarized Rival's Code

    A London judge ordered an online gambling software developer on Monday to publicize that it had plagiarized copyrighted code when producing products which competed with the online betting game Slingo.

  • September 23, 2024

    Redrow Sues Contractor For £11M Over Fire-Risk Defects

    Redrow has sued construction company Kier for £11 million ($14.7 million) over fire-safety issues that left a housing development unfit to live in that the home builder discovered following investigations carried out after the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Enforcing And Contesting Arbitral Awards In Qatar

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    As Qatar aspires to become a regional investment hub as part of its Qatar Vision 2030, it has committed to modernizing its arbitration practices in accordance with international standards, including updating the process of enforcing and contesting arbitration awards, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint

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    In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.

  • Oil And Gas Case Highlights Judicial Review Climate Trends

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    Although the High Court recently dismissed a judicial review challenge concerning the U.K. oil and gas industry licensing regime, the case highlights how environmental campaign groups are increasingly taking formal steps through court proceedings to challenge the fossil fuel industry and influence government policy, say lawyers at CMS.

  • Collapse-Risk Buildings Present Liability Challenges

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    Recently, buildings, such as Harrow Crown Court, have been closed due to risk of collapse from use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in their construction, but identifying who will pay for the associated damages may be challenging due to expired limitation periods, say Theresa Mohammed, Jonathan Clarke and Villem Diederichs at Watson Farley.

  • Age Bias Cases Illustrate Key Employer Issues On Retirement

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    Recent Employment Tribunal cases demonstrate that age discrimination claims are increasingly on employees' radars, particularly regarding retirement, so employers should be proactive and review their current practices for managing older employees, say Jane Mann and Lucy Sellen at Fox Williams.

  • Why Indonesia Feels Frustrated By Airbus Dispute Outcome

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    Although the U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s Airbus bribery investigation achieved a record payout for regulators, Indonesia’s threat to sue for lack of credit for its contribution serves as a reminder of the need to take care when settlements are distributed among investigating partners, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.

  • UAE Bank Case Offers Lessons On Enforcing Foreign Rulings

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    The High Court recently clarified in Invest Bank v. El-Husseini that foreign judgment debts may be enforceable in England, despite being unenforceable in their jurisdiction of origin, which should remind practitioners that foreign judgments will be recognized in England if they are final and conclusive in their court of origin, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

  • 9 Hallmarks Of The New German Class Action Regime

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    By recently adopting a new class action regime, Germany is taking an incremental step toward more collective redress, which may fundamentally change its litigation landscape amid increased European regulatory activity, a growing focus on private enforcement of regulations, and a consumer-friendly German judiciary, say lawyers at Gibson Dunn.

  • Protecting The Arbitral Process In Russia-Related Disputes

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    Four recent High Court and Court of Appeal rulings concerning anti-suit injunction claims illustrate that companies exposed to litigation risk in Russia may need to carefully consider how to best protect their interests and the arbitral process with regard to a Russian counterparty, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • Examining US And Europe Patent Disclosure For AI Inventions

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    As applicants before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office increasingly seek patent protection for inventions relating to artificial intelligence, the applications may require more implementation details than traditional computer-implemented inventions, including disclosure of data and methods used to train the AI systems, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Incontinence Drug Ruling Offers Key Patent Drafting Lessons

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    In a long-awaited decision in Astellas v. Teva and Sandoz, an English court found that the patent for a drug used to treat overactive bladder syndrome had not been infringed, highlighting the interaction between patent drafting and litigation strategy, and why claim infringement is as important a consideration as validity, says George McCubbin at Herbert Smith.

  • RSA Insurance Ruling Clarifies Definition Of 'Insured Loss'

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    A London appeals court's recent ruling in Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance v. Tughans, that the insurer must provide coverage for a liability that included the law firm's fees, shows that a claim for the recovery of fees paid to a firm can constitute an insured loss, say James Roberts and Sophia Hanif at Clyde & Co.

  • Putin Ruling May Have Unintended Sanctions Consequences

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    By widening the scope of control, the Court of Appeal's recent judgment in Mints v. PJSC opens the possibility that everything in Russia could be deemed to be controlled by President Vladimir Putin, which would significantly expand the U.K.'s sanctions regime in unintended ways, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • EPO Decision Significantly Relaxes Patent Priority Approach

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    In a welcome development for patent applicants, a recent European Patent Office decision redefines the way that entitlement to priority is assessed, significantly relaxing the previous approach and making challenges to the right to priority in post-grant opposition proceedings far more difficult, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Landmark EU Climate Case May Shape Future Disputes

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    The European Court of Human Rights' recent hearing in its first-ever climate change case Agostinho v. Portugal, concerning human rights violation claims due to countries' failure to curb emissions, may develop the law on admissibility and guide future climate disputes before domestic courts, say Stefanie Spancken-Monz and Leane Meyer at Freshfields.

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