Commercial Litigation UK

  • October 18, 2024

    5 Questions For Leigh Day's Environment Team

    Leigh Day's environment team has spoken to Law360 about their landmark victory at the U.K. Supreme Court, brought on behalf of climate activists fighting fossil fuel production plans across the county, and the implications of the ruling for future environmental litigation.

  • October 17, 2024

    Bailiff Loses Claim Over Emotional Support Dog

    The Ministry of Justice was not obligated to let a court bailiff travel with her Yorkshire terrier, as an employment tribunal ruled that her anxiety levels on the job wouldn't have improved with an emotional support dog.

  • October 17, 2024

    Bathroom Biz Denies Fooling Buyers With 'Easy' TM

    A bathroom fittings supplier has denied infringing several of easyGroup's trademarks, telling a London court that the companies' markets are too different for consumers to mistake "Easy Bathrooms" for part of the easyJet owner's portfolio.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Exec Calls Training Co.'s Libel Claim 'Corporate Bullying'

    The former sales director of an apprenticeship provider has argued that a libel claim against him is "an abuse of the legal system," after his former employer accused him of harassing senior staff in anonymous messages.

  • October 17, 2024

    Morgan Lewis Adds Powell Gilbert Co-Founder As Partner

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has hired the co-founder of intellectual property boutique Powell Gilbert LLP as its newest partner in London, a move that bolsters the U.S. firm's ambitions to become a patent litigation powerhouse in Europe.

  • October 17, 2024

    Telefónica Defends 'E-Plus' TM Against Tech Biz At EU Court

    Telefónica's German arm has fought off a U.S. tech company's bid to nix one of its "E-Plus" trademarks, proving to a European Union court that it put the sign to genuine use within a key five-year period.

  • October 17, 2024

    Bratz Maker CEO Denies Forcing UK Retailer To Drop Rival

    The chief executive of toy giant MGA Entertainment Inc. denied on Thursday that he forced a U.K. retailer to stop selling a rival product, hitting back at claims that he killed off a competitor by making baseless patent infringement litigation threats.

  • October 17, 2024

    Home Office Pushes Blame On Jersey For Harm To Hemp Biz

    The Home Office has denied it attempted to block a Jersey hemp company from exporting its products to the U.K., arguing the crown dependency authorities acted on their own initiative and were not bound by its advice.

  • October 17, 2024

    Tesco Wrongly Fired Union Rep For Colleagues' Protest

    A Tesco union representative who acted as a middleman between managers and colleagues who had walked out in protest was unfairly sacked, after a tribunal found the supermarket giant wrongly regarded him as the orchestrator of the action.

  • October 17, 2024

    VC Firm Denies Failing Putin's Ex-Son-In-Law's Divorcee

    A venture capital firm has denied owing the ex-wife of Vladimir Putin's former son-in-law a £1.1 million ($1.4 million) refund for allegedly valueless help with securing her $60 million prenuptial agreement, claiming it spent hundreds of hours working for her.

  • October 17, 2024

    StanChart Libor Decision Splits Bank And Investor Interests

    The High Court's landmark decision allowing Standard Chartered to use an alternative to Libor has provided certainty to contracts that fail to provide for the abolition of the benchmark rate, but gives investors less flexibility than they might consider the wording provides.

  • October 17, 2024

    Daily Mail Withdraws Articles In Privacy Battle With Tax Pro

    The publisher of the Daily Mail will withdraw articles about an Alvarez & Marsal managing director's relationship with a billionaire, a lawyer for the senior tax professional told a London court on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    E.On Skirts Payout Despite Unfairly Firing Staff After Accident

    A tribunal has ruled that energy utilities supplier E.On unfairly axed two technicians after an accident while repairing a streetlight nearly left one of them dead — but the pair won no compensation due to their "negligent" conduct.

  • October 17, 2024

    Sony Loses EU Copyright Fight Over Variable Data In Game Codes

    Europe's top court ruled Thursday that copyright protections for code do not extend to variable data used when a program is running, handing a major defeat to Sony in its battle against third-party software developers behind cheat systems.

  • October 16, 2024

    EAT Criticizes Tribunal's Lack Of Clarity In Decision

    A community officer revived his claim that he was fired for blowing the whistle on a housing provider's discriminatory practices after an appellate tribunal found that he deserved a proper explanation for losing.

  • October 16, 2024

    Sergio Rossi Loses Appeal For 'SR1' TM In Battle With Rival

    A European court ruled Wednesday that Italian shoe company Sergio Rossi can't register a trademark for the name of its sr1 shoe collection because its rival Stefano Ricci had already cornered the market using those letters.

  • October 16, 2024

    Ex-IT Firm Director Fights For Stake In Biz At Top UK Court

     A former director of LA Micro Group fought to persuade Britain's top court on Wednesday that he still has a stake in the IT company because he never relinquished it in writing after falling out with his business partner.

  • October 16, 2024

    Regeneron, Bayer Hit Back At Amgen In Eye-Med Patent Clash

    Regeneron and Bayer have fought back against Amgen's bid to dismiss two major eye medicine patents at a London court, as they accused their opponent at the same time of planning to infringe the patents with a biosimilar version of the treatment.

  • October 16, 2024

    Motor Sports Body Denies Massa Owed £64M Over 'Crashgate'

    The governing body of motor sports has denied owing Felipe Massa £64 million ($83 million) in lost earnings following the 2008 Formula One "Crashgate" scandal, claiming the driver cannot use the courts to effectively overturn the results of the world championship.

  • October 16, 2024

    Woman Wins Right To Sue Regulators Over Landfill Fumes

    Britain's top court ruled Wednesday that a woman can seek to bring a legal challenge against public bodies for failing to prevent noxious scents from a landfill site, finding that a lower court was wrong to block her because she had alternative remedies.

  • October 16, 2024

    Actors Win Worker Status For Claims Against Theater Biz

    Two actors have won permission to sue a theatrical productions company under U.K. employment laws after they convinced a tribunal that they held worker status while on tour.

  • October 16, 2024

    Research Group Accuses Ex-Employee Of Copying Test Plan

    A health research group has accused a former senior research scientist for the company of "slavishly" copying its plans for a psychometric test, alleging that she duplicated her former employer's research in work for her new employer.

  • October 16, 2024

    BBC Beats Announcer's Bias Claim Over Probe Into TV Error

    The BBC did not discriminate against a disabled program announcer by disciplining her after she made a broadcasting error, a tribunal held in a ruling released on Wednesday.

  • October 16, 2024

    Argentina Denied UK Top Court Appeal In €1.3B Bond Dispute

    Argentina cannot dodge paying out on an outstanding €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) to bondholders after wrongly adjusting the way it calculates yields for government securities after Britain's highest court refused to consider the case.

  • October 15, 2024

    Spain Claims 2 Energy Arbitration Wins In Intra-EU Disputes

    Spain said it has won a first with two arbitral awards favoring the country where International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunals found they did not have the jurisdiction to hear a dispute under the Energy Charter Treaty between a European Union member state and an EU investor.

Expert Analysis

  • Hugh Grant Case Raises Questions About Part 36 Offers

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    Actor Hugh Grant's recent decision to settle his privacy suit by accepting a so-called Part 36 offer from News Group — to avoid paying a larger sum in legal costs by proceeding to trial — illustrates how this legal mechanism can be used by parties to force settlements, raising questions about its tactical use and fairness, says Colin Campbell at Kain Knight.

  • Accounting For Climate Change In Flexible Working Requests

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    Although the U.K. government's recent updates to the country's flexible working laws failed to include climate change as a factor for evaluating remote work requests, employers are not prohibited from considering the environmental benefits — or drawbacks — of an employee's request to work remotely, say Jonathan Carr and Gemma Taylor at Lewis Silkin.

  • Opinion

    New Property Category Not Needed To Regulate Digital Assets

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    The U.K. Law Commission's exploration of whether to create a third category of property for digital assets is derived from a misreading of historical case law, and would not be helpful in resolving any questions surrounding digital assets, says Duncan Sheehan at the University of Leeds.

  • Employer Lessons From Red Bull's Misconduct Investigation

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    Red Bull’s recent handling of a high-profile investigation into team principal Christian Horner’s alleged misconduct toward a colleague serves as a reminder of the importance of thorough internal grievance and disciplinary processes, and offers lessons for employers hoping to minimize media attention, say Charlotte Smith and Adam Melling at Walker Morris.

  • Breaking Down The EPO's Revised Practice Guidelines

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    The European Patent Office's updated guidelines for examination recently took effect and include significant changes related to the priority right presumption, the concept of plausibility and artificial intelligence, providing invaluable insight on obtaining patents from the office, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Pharma Remains A Key Focus Of EU Antitrust Enforcement

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    The recently published European Commission report on pharmaceutical sector competition law illustrates that effective enforcement of EU rules remains a matter of high priority for EU and national authorities, say lawyers at Dechert.

  • Employment Tribunal Fee Proposal Raises Potential Issues

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    The proposal to reintroduce employment tribunal fees in a recent U.K. government consultation poses serious concerns over the right of access to justice, and will only act as a deterrent for claimants and appellants, says Yulia Fedorenko at CM Murray.

  • ECHR Climate Rulings Hint At Direction Of Future Cases

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    Three recent climate rulings from the European Court of Human Rights show the court's tendency toward a more formalistic, hands-off approach to procedural issues but a more hands-on approach to the application of the European Convention on Human Rights, setting the first guiding principles for key issues in EU climate cases, say Stefanie Spancken-Monz and Leane Meyer at Freshfields.

  • What UK Energy Charter Treaty Exit Would Mean For Investors

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    While the U.K.'s recent announcement that it intends to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty is a bold political signal, investor protections will remain in place for a significant period of time, ensuring that an element of certainty and business continuity will remain, say Karel Daele and Jessica Thomas at Taylor Wessing.

  • What To Know About The Russia-Stranded Plane Ruling

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    The High Court's recent decision in Zephyrus Capital Aviation v. Fidelis Underwriting, rejecting reinsurers' U.K. jurisdiction challenges in claims over stranded planes in Russia, has broad implications for cross-border litigation involving exclusive jurisdiction clauses, says Samantha Zaozirny at Browne Jacobson.

  • Uber Payout Offers Employer Lessons On Mitigating Bias

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    Uber Eats' recent payout to a driver over allegations that the company's facial recognition software was discriminatory sheds light on bias in AI, and offers guidance for employers on how to avoid harming employees through the use of such technology, says Rachel Rigg at Fieldfisher.

  • Apple Ruling Offers Morsel Of Certainty On Litigation Funding

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    An English court's recent decision in Gutmann v. Apple, finding that a litigation funder could be paid via a damages award, offers a piece of guidance on the permissibility of such agreement terms amid the ongoing uncertainty around funded group litigation in the U.K., says Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management.

  • Clarifying Legal Elements To Support A Genocide Claim At ICJ

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    Reporting on South Africa’s dispute against Israel in the International Court of Justice largely fails to clearly articulate what a case for genocide alleged in the context of war requires — a technical analysis that will evaluate several key factors, from the scale of the devastation to statements by officials, say Solomon Shinerock and Alex Bedrosyan at Lewis Baach.

  • Opinion

    Employment Tribunal Fees Risk Reducing Access To Justice

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    Before the proposed fee regime for employment tribunal claims can take effect, the government needs much more evidence that low-income individuals — arguably the tribunal system's most important users — will not be negatively affected by the fees, says Max Winthrop, employment law committee chair at the Law Society.

  • Tribunal Cases Illustrate Balancing Act Of Anti-Bias Protection

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    Recent employment tribunal discrimination cases show employers the complexities of determining the scope of protected characteristics under the Equality Act, and responding proportionately, particularly when conflicts involve controversial beliefs that can trigger competing employee discrimination claims, say Michael Powner and Sophie Rothwell at Charles Russell.

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