Commercial Litigation UK

  • February 12, 2025

    Shell's Liability For Nigerian Oil Spills Set For UK Trial

    Thousands of Nigerian villagers will begin efforts on Thursday to convince the High Court that energy giant Shell can be held responsible for the environmental damage caused by repeated oil leaks and systemic pollution from its pipelines and infrastructure.

  • February 12, 2025

    Uni Researcher Wins Appeal To Redo Unfair Sacking Claim

    A postdoc researcher at Newcastle University has won a second chance at her claims for unfair dismissal and notice pay, after an appellate judge found she waited too long to file because she misunderstood the tribunal process.

  • February 12, 2025

    Gender Critical Nurse Accuses Trans Doctor Of 'Pack Of Lies'

    A transgender doctor defended herself on Wednesday against allegations that her claims that she was harassed by a female nurse were "a pack of lies" and that she had "made up stories" in an attempt to get the gender-critical nurse removed from her job.

  • February 12, 2025

    Blur Drummer's Class Action Claim Faces PRS Strike-Out Bid

    An organization that collects royalties on behalf of musicians in the U.K. on Wednesday asked the country's competition tribunal to toss out a claim brought by the drummer of rock band Blur, who alleged that it has been unfairly distributing cash.

  • February 12, 2025

    Doctor Accuses NHS Trust Of Suspending Him For Gaza Posts

    A doctor has sued a London National Health Service trust, alleging it suspended him based on his "upsetting" pro-Palestinian tweets amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

  • February 12, 2025

    Reading FC Owner Sues Buyer Over Unreturned Loan Security

    The owner of Reading Football Club has sued a potential buyer of the League One club over a "continuing refusal" to return assets used to secure the outfit's sale, in the latest legal twist in litigation following the botched takeover deal.

  • February 12, 2025

    Arena Liquidators Challenge Lloyds' Directors' Authority Defense

    Arena Television's liquidators have dismissed Lloyds Bank's defense to allegations it processed payments linked to a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) fraud, saying the bank's claim it was acting on the instructions of directors who were authorized to make the payments is "unsustainable."

  • February 12, 2025

    EU Shelves SEP Plan In Drive To Simplify New Regs

    The European Commission has withdrawn its bid to overhaul laws on standard-essential patents, announcing in its work plan for 2025 that there is "no foreseeable agreement" for the controversial proposal.

  • February 12, 2025

    QIC Denies COVID Cover For Franco Manca Owner

    QIC Europe Ltd. has argued that it is not obliged to cover alleged losses sustained by the owner of a restaurant chain after it temporarily closed sites at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because there were no cases of the virus "within the immediate vicinity" of the premises.

  • February 12, 2025

    Green Industrialist's Libel Claim Against Tory Can Go To Trial

    A libel claim brought by green energy tycoon Dale Vince against Shaun Bailey, a former Conservative candidate for London mayor, over his allegations that the Labour Party donor called Hamas "freedom fighters" can go to trial, a London court has ruled.

  • February 12, 2025

    HMRC Can't Tax Canadian Bank For Oil Loan Payments

    The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that HM Revenue and Customs cannot tax loan payments made to Royal Bank of Canada connected to oil rights in the North Sea because the underlying agreement did not give an oil company the right to work the oilfield.

  • February 12, 2025

    Christian Worker Wins Free Speech Appeal Over Anti-LGBT Posts

    An appeals court ruled Wednesday that a Christian woman fired by the school where she worked for sharing anti-LGBT social media posts was discriminated against for her religious beliefs, giving a second wind to a growing trend for people to seek legal protection for potentially offensive beliefs.

  • February 11, 2025

    Award Enforcement Suit Must Focus On Italy Immunity First

    A D.C. federal judge said Italy has at least a "colorable" sovereign immunity defense to litigation by Dutch, Danish and Luxembourgish firms seeking to enforce $23 million in arbitral awards granted after the country rolled back renewable energy subsidies.

  • February 11, 2025

    Met Office Process For Tackling Sexual Misconduct Upended

    A London court ruled Tuesday that the Met's process to pull clearance for police officers accused of sexual misconduct is unlawful, leaving the force in what it called "a hopeless position" to tackle unfit officers after Wayne Couzens' rape and murder conviction.

  • February 11, 2025

    BT Fends Off Customers' Bid To Revive £1.3B Class Action

    A group of BT landline customers have failed to revive a £1.3 billion ($2 billion) class action against the telecom giant, after a competition tribunal refused Tuesday to allow an appeal against the first substantive ruling deciding a U.K. collective proceedings order claim.

  • February 11, 2025

    StanChart Bids To Slash £762M From UK Investor Claim

    Standard Chartered urged the High Court on Tuesday to strike out claims from passive investors worth £762 million ($943 million) in litigation accusing the bank of making untrue or misleading market statements about its sanctions noncompliance.

  • February 11, 2025

    Barclays Sued Over Staffer's Alleged Role In $643K Fraud

    A Singaporean fire safety business has sued Barclays Bank PLC over an elaborate fraud that caused it to send $643,000, alleging that a bank employee was involved in the plot to dupe it into transferring funds to criminals.

  • February 11, 2025

    Tesco Wins 2nd Shot At 'Relevant Facts' In Equal Pay Case

    Retail giant Tesco Stores Ltd. has won its appeal to reopen arguments on what facts are relevant when comparing the jobs of warehouse workers with more than 47,000 shop floor staff members who have sued for equal pay.

  • February 11, 2025

    Procurement Biz Blocks Disclosure In Byju's $533M Debt Fight

    A London judge on Tuesday ruled it would be oppressive to force a U.K. procurement company to provide evidence related to an allegedly fraudulent $533 million transaction for Delaware court proceedings involving the bankrupt U.S. subsidiary of Indian educational tech firm Byju's.

  • February 11, 2025

    MPs' WhatsApp Scandal A Cautionary Tale On Privacy At Work

    The sanctioning of two Labour members of Parliament for offensive comments made in a group chat is a reminder that what happens on WhatsApp is not private, employment law experts have warned.

  • February 11, 2025

    Disclosure Could 'Derail' Wagatha Costs Fight, Rooney Says

    Coleen Rooney argued on Tuesday that Rebekah Vardy's demand that she should hand over more documents, as the wrangling continues over their high-profile libel trial, would derail the dispute over the £1.8 million ($2.2 million) legal bill that has accumulated.

  • February 11, 2025

    PE Unit Defeats Investor In Fight Over Software Co. Stakes

    Wealthy investor Barry Maloney attempted to force a subsidiary of Intermediate Capital Group out of their joint investment in an Irish technology unicorn, in breach of his obligations to the U.S. private equity giant, a London court ruled on Tuesday.

  • February 11, 2025

    UniCredit Lifts Block On Gazprom Unit Claim To Avoid Penalty

    UniCredit Bank AG won its unusual fight to lift an injunction protecting it from a claim from a Gazprom subsidiary on Tuesday after it asked a London court to help it avoid a €250 million ($258 million) penalty from a Russian court.

  • February 10, 2025

    Pension Execs Found Liable In $2B Danish Tax Fraud Case

    A New York federal jury found Monday by "clear and convincing evidence" that Denmark's tax agency reasonably relied on the false statements made on pension plan applications that were part of a $2.1 billion tax fraud scheme by pension plan executives.

  • February 10, 2025

    Mosque's Claim On Arena Bombing Inquiry Ruled Defamatory

    A London court on Monday ruled that it was "defamatory at common law" for a mosque attended by the Manchester Arena bomber to say that one of its former imams had knowingly given false evidence to an inquiry into the terror attack.

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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