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Commercial Litigation UK
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October 25, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the Competition and Markets Authority take action against a mattress retailer after it was caught pressuring its customers with misleading discounts, Lenovo and Motorola target ZTE Corporation with a patents claim, Lloyds Bank hit by another claim relating to the collapse of Arena Television and U.K. tax authority HMRC sued by the director of an electronics company that evaded millions of pounds in VAT. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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October 25, 2024
Sainsbury's Manager Threatened By Colleague Wins £59K
Sainsbury's must compensate a former manager more than £59,000 ($76,553) for failing to respond to threats and foulmouthed outbursts the manager faced from a colleague, a tribunal has ruled.
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October 25, 2024
Lloyds Hit With Fraud Claim By Collapsed Broadcast Co.
Lloyds Bank PLC has been sued by liquidators of a broadcasting equipment company in the latest legal claim to be filed against the bank by parties related to the collapse of Arena Television amid fraud allegations.
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October 25, 2024
Chambers Assistant Can Pursue Disability-Related Claims
An employment tribunal has ruled that an assistant practice manager at 3 Bolt Court Chambers suffered from severe anxiety and depression when she was fired, allowing her to bring disability-related claims against her bosses.
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October 25, 2024
Deutsche Bank Wins £360K Costs From Trader In Bonus Row
A London judge Friday ordered a former Deutsche Bank trader to pay more than £360,000 ($467,000) as an early payment of the bank's legal costs after she lost her breach of contract case over assurances allegedly given about her compensation.
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October 25, 2024
Pfizer Loses Hemophilia Gene Therapy Patent Row To UniQure
A London court held Friday that uniQure's patent covering hemophilia gene therapy is valid because the specific protein it uses is not obvious, and that Pfizer infringed the patent with the development of its own version of the treatment.
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October 25, 2024
Baker McKenzie Lawyer Fined For Refusing Breathalyzer Test
A Baker McKenzie lawyer who was convicted for refusing to take a roadside breath test after being pulled over by the police was fined £2,500 ($3,250) by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on Friday.
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October 25, 2024
BHP, Vale Reach $32B Brazil Dam Settlement Amid UK Trial
Mining giant BHP announced Friday that the Brazilian government has signed off a final $31.7 billion settlement package to compensate communities devastated by the collapse of a dam nine years ago.
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October 25, 2024
Commerzbank Can Pursue Staffer For Fake Sex Assault Claim
A London court ruled Friday that a former Commerzbank AG analyst will face contempt of court proceedings after making false sexual assault allegations against a colleague as part of his failed harassment case against the bank.
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October 25, 2024
Chubb Not On Hook For News Staffer's Discrimination Claim
Chubb is not liable for a discrimination claim by a former news company staffer because her employer's insurance policy ruled out liability for wrongful employment practices, a tribunal has ruled.
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October 24, 2024
Abbott Rival Exec Defends Diabetes Monitor Shape In TM Fight
The chief operating officer of medical device manufacturer Sinocare Inc. told a London court Thursday he "never imagined" that Abbott Laboratories could have trademarked a circular shape for a diabetes monitor that is at the center of copying allegations.
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October 24, 2024
Heineken Faces €160M Claim After Dutch Market Abuse Ruling
Heineken was held jointly liable for its Greek subsidiary abusing its dominant position to hold back competitors by a Dutch court, paving the way for a rival brewery to press home its over €160 million ($173 million) antitrust claim against the beer giant.
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October 24, 2024
Union Threatens First-Ever Private Case Over Museum Strike
A trade union threatened on Thursday to launch a private prosecution against the security contractors for London's Science and Natural History museums if they hire agency workers to replace workers who plan to strike during the busiest week of the year.
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October 24, 2024
EU Court Upholds Annulment Of Intel's €1B Antitrust Fine
Computer chip giant Intel Corp. has beaten the European Commission's €1.06 billion ($1.14 billion) fine against it after the European Union's highest court ruled that a lower court could invalidate the EU administrative arm's conclusions, ending a long-running legal battle over the 2009 fine.
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October 24, 2024
Judiciary Won't Make Panels The Exception For Bias Cases
Most discrimination and whistleblowing cases will continue to be heard by a full panel after the judiciary backed away from a plan to tackle the employment tribunals' crippling backlog by making it the default for judges to hear cases alone.
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October 24, 2024
Tribunals Increasingly Using WhatsApp Evidence, Study Finds
The number of employment tribunals using WhatsApp messages as evidence nearly trebled between 2019 and 2023 to reach 427 hearings, a law firm's study revealed Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Lloyd's Affiliate Broker Sued For $33M Over Yacht Fire Damage
A Dubai-based insurance broker has sued a Lloyd's of London-accredited broker for more than $33.3 million over claims the latter failed to place adequate reinsurance cover that left the Dubai broker exposed after a fire broke out a Qatari shipyard, damaging three yachts.
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October 24, 2024
Russian Airline Kept Jets To Avoid Unrest, Lessor Exec Says
A Siberian regional airline had to retain leased aircraft after the Russian invasion of Ukraine to avoid "social unrest," an executive for one of the aircraft lessors suing their insurers told a London trial Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Daimler Can't Get European 'Trucks You Can Trust' TM
Vehicle manufacturer Daimler has lost its appeal to win a trademark for the phrase "Trucks You Can Trust," after a European Union court found the mark was purely promotional.
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October 24, 2024
Property Co. Pays £300K After Dropping Ex-PM Adviser Libel
A family that runs a London property management business has dropped its libel case against a former adviser to ex-prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May and paid a legal bill of more than £300,000 ($390,000), the adviser told Law360 Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Monster Energy Sends Rival's 'Insomnia' TM Appeal To Bed
Monster Energy has stopped a rival from salvaging its green "Insomnia Energy" trademark at a European Union court, proving that the logo unfairly leans on the reputation of its familiar "M" branding.
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October 24, 2024
EU Law Trumps International Copyright Provisions
Europe's top court ruled Thursday that its member states cannot implement certain provisions of international copyright law for applied art in the EU, harmonizing protections for designs across the bloc.
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October 23, 2024
Top Human Rights Court Slams Russia Over Int'l Media Rule
An international court has ruled Russia is violating the right to freedom of expression enshrined in European human rights law by forcing independent media organizations to apply "foreign agent" labels to their content in an attempt to discredit them.
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October 23, 2024
Ex-Business Partners Deny Deceiving Investors For £12M
Two former business partners have denied deceiving investors about how much money was required to set up a specialist bank and said the investment company suing the lender was prepared to invest regardless.
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October 23, 2024
Police Not Liable For Ice Road Deaths, Top UK Court Rules
The U.K.'s highest court ruled Wednesday that English police had not negligently caused the deaths of two men who died in a road collision due to black ice, ruling that the police officers did not have a duty of care to prevent harm to drivers.
Expert Analysis
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Economic Crime Act Offers Welcome Reform To AML Regime
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act exemption for mixed-property transactions that came into force on Jan. 15 as part of the U.K.'s anti-money laundering regime is long overdue, and should end economic harm to businesses, giving banks confidence to adopt a more pragmatic approach, say Matthew Getz and Joseph Fox-Davies at Pallas Partners.
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What Venice Swaps Ruling Says About Foreign Law Disputes
The English appeals court's decision in Banca Intesa v. Venice that the English law swaps are valid and enforceable will be welcomed by banks, and it provides valuable commentary on the English courts' approach toward the interpretation of foreign law, say Harriet Campbell and Richard Marshall at Penningtons Manches.
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Key Litigation Funding Rulings Will Drive Reform In 2024
Ground-breaking judgments on disputes funding and fee arrangements from 2023 — including that litigation funding agreements could be damages-based agreements, rendering them unenforceable — will bring legislative changes in 2024, which could have a substantial impact on litigation risk for several sectors, say Verity Jackson-Grant and David Bridge at Simmons & Simmons.
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How Data Privacy Law Cases Are Evolving In UK, EU And US
To see where the law is heading in 2024, it is worth looking at privacy litigation and enforcement trends from last year, where we saw a focus on General Data Protection Regulation regulatory enforcement actions in the U.K. and EU, and class actions brought by private plaintiffs in the U.S., say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
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Misleading Airline Ads Offer Lessons To Avoid Greenwashing
Following the Advertising Standards Authority's recent decision that three airlines' adverts misled customers about their environmental impact, companies should ensure that their green claims comply with legal standards to avoid risking reputational damage, which could have financial repercussions, say Elaina Bailes and Olivia Shaw at Stewarts.
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Supreme Court Ruling Is A Gift To Insolvency Practitioners
As corporate criminal liability is in sharp focus, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Palmer v. Northern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court that administrators are not company officers and should not be held liable under U.K. labor law is instructive in focusing on the substance and not merely the title of a person's role within a company, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
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Major EU AI Banking Ruling Will Reverberate Across Sectors
Following the European Court of Justice's recent OQ v. Land Hessen decision that banks' use of AI-driven credit scores to make consumer decisions did not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, regulators indicated that the ruling would apply broadly, leaving numerous industries that employ AI-powered decisions open to scrutiny, say lawyers at Alston & Bird.
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English Could Be The Future Language Of The UPC
While most Unified Patent Court proceedings are currently held in German, the recent decisions in Plant-e v. Arkyne and Amgen v. Sanofi potentially signal that English will be the preferred language, particularly in cases involving small and medium enterprises, say lawyers at Freshfields.
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Arbitration Remains Attractive For Digital Disputes In 2024
Recent regulatory and digital forum developments highlight that, in 2024, arbitration will continue to adapt to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, and remain an attractive forum for resolving digital disputes due to its flexibility, confidentiality and comparative ease to enforce cross-border awards, says Peter Smith at Charles Russell.
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Key Employer Lessons From 2023 Neurodiversity Case Uptick
The rise in neurodiversity cases in U.K. employment tribunals last year emphasizes the growing need for robust occupational health support, and that employers must acknowledge and adjust for individuals with disabilities in their workplaces to ensure compliance and foster a neurodiverse-friendly work environment, says Emily Cox at Womble Bond.
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A Look At 2023's Landmark Insolvency Developments
The insolvency landscape in 2023 witnessed pivotal court decisions that will continue to shape the industry in 2024, with a focus on refining director and administrator duties and obligations, and addressing emerging challenges, says Kerri Wilson at Ontier.
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Hague Judgments Treaty May Boost UK-EU Cooperation
The U.K.'s recent decision to sign the Hague Judgments Convention could help rebuild post-Brexit judicial cooperation with the EU by creating a holistic arrangement on mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, say Patrick Robinson and Stephen Lacey at Linklaters.
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5 Key UK Employment Law Developments From 2023
Key employment law issues in 2023 suggest that topics such as trade union recognition for collective bargaining in the gig economy, industrial action and menopause discrimination will be at the top of the agenda for employers and employees in 2024, say Merrill April and Anaya Price at CM Murray.
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Emerging Trends From A Busy Climate Litigation Year
Although many environmental cases brought in the U.K. were unsuccessful in 2023, they arguably clarified several relevant issues, such as climate rights, director and trustee obligations, and the extent to which claimants can hold the government accountable, illustrating what 2024 may have in store for climate litigation, say Simon Bishop and Patrick Kenny at Hausfeld.
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Key 2024 Arbitration Trends In A Changing World
As key sectors such as ESG and the global mining and commodities market will continue to generate more arbitration in 2024, procedural developments in arbitral law will both guide future arbitration proceedings and provide helpful lessons on confidentiality, disclosure and professional duty, say Louise Woods and Elena Guillet at V&E.