Commercial Litigation UK

  • May 08, 2024

    Marsh Can't Duck Chemical Co.'s Negligence Claim

    A London court on Wednesday refused Marsh's bid to strike out a global chemicals group's claim alleging the insurance broker negligently arranged faulty motor insurance cover.

  • May 15, 2024

    Squire Patton Hires Partner Trio As UK Expansion Continues

    Squire Patton Boggs LLP said Wednesday that it has hired three partners in Birmingham and London in a move to boost its offerings in litigation; leveraged finance; and environmental, social and governance.

  • May 08, 2024

    StanChart Bids To Toss Investors' Sanctions Claim On Appeal

    Standard Chartered PLC urged an appeals court Wednesday to toss accusations from investors that it had downplayed the extent to which it had breached U.S. sanctions against Iran by hundreds of billions of dollars, saying they have insufficient evidence to support them.

  • May 08, 2024

    Puma Can't Trip Up Rival Shoe Designs IP

    Puma failed Wednesday to convince a European court that two rivals' sneaker designs had soles that were too similar to its own to gain design protections after the court concluded that it had to consider the shoes as a whole.

  • May 08, 2024

    Daimler Loses Bid For 'Certified' Trademark At EU Court

    Auto giant Daimler lost its bid on Wednesday for trademark registration over a logo bearing the word "certified" as a European Union court found that the word had no distinctive meaning in connection with trucks.

  • May 08, 2024

    Solicitor Struck Off For Asking Client For Sexual Images

    A tribunal struck off a solicitor on Wednesday after concluding that he dishonestly persuaded a vulnerable client to send him sexually explicit images by falsely claiming he needed them to prevent her ex-husband from posting them as revenge porn.

  • May 08, 2024

    Dr. Martens Accuses Temu Of Google Search TM Use

    Dr. Martens has accused Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant Temu of paying Google to show its knockoffs of the British shoemaker's famous black boots in the search results of online shoppers.

  • May 08, 2024

    Reed Smith's $13M Ask May Breach Sanctions, Barclays Says

    Barclays has told a London court that it rightfully refused to transfer approximately $13 million back to a sanctioned shipping company at Reed Smith LLP's request after a collapsed tanker deal, arguing that it declined so it could avoid violating sanctions.

  • May 08, 2024

    Car Charging Supplier Claims Morrisons Ditched It For Rival

    Supermarket giant Morrisons allegedly ditched an electric vehicle charging supplier for a competitor without giving any warning that the chain had lost faith in the provider's technology years before, according to a London court claim.

  • May 08, 2024

    Advertisers Fight For Class Action In Google Antitrust Case

    A group of advertisers fought for a green light for their class action against Google owner Alphabet on Wednesday, arguing that their case meets the requirements for a class proceedings order because there are serious issues of abuse of market dominance to be tried.

  • May 08, 2024

    Litigation Funder Probably Owned By Sanctioned Oligarchs

    A court has found that there is "reasonable cause" to suspect that a litigation-funder that backs a $1.34 billion fraud claim from a collapsed Russian bank against its former owner is controlled by individuals sanctioned in the U.K.

  • May 08, 2024

    South Africa Immune To Sunken WWII Silver Salvage Claim

    Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday that South Africa has sovereign immunity against a salvage repayment claim from a company that recovered around $43 million worth of silver bullion from a cargo ship sunk during the Second World War.

  • May 07, 2024

    Climate Cases Haven't Hurt Oil, Gas Credit Quality, S&P Says

    Climate change litigation has skyrocketed over the past 10 years, increasing climate litigation risk, but the credit quality of the oil and gas sector has remained unaffected, S&P Global Ratings concluded in a report published Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    Uniper Looks To Nix Russian Court's Anti-Arbitration Order

    German energy company Uniper has appealed a Russian court ruling threatening a multibillion euro fine if it continues to pursue an arbitration claim in Sweden that accuses the Russian company Gazprom of reneging on a contract to deliver gas, the company said Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    Lawmakers Told To Fix 'Abusive' County Court System

    Ongoing delays in the county courts are "abusive" to vulnerable litigants who are forced to abandon their cases amid a lack of resources, a London academic told a parliamentary committee Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    Solicitor Faces Tribunal Over Asking Client For Sexual Images

    A solicitor is facing a disciplinary tribunal over allegations that he duped a vulnerable client into sending him sexually explicit images of herself by claiming he needed them to prevent her ex-husband from posting them as revenge porn.

  • May 07, 2024

    Black Teacher Fired For Covering Up CCTV Of Fight

    A teacher lost his race discrimination claims against his former employer, after a tribunal ruled that his bosses' decision to fire him was due purely to his conduct and the fact he covered up a CCTV camera during a classroom fight.

  • May 07, 2024

    Moderna Says Pledge Didn't Waive COVID Vaccine Patent Rights

    Moderna and Pfizer questioned expert witnesses on U.S. federal law on Tuesday in their London court battle over whether Moderna is bound by its pledge not to enforce its COVID-19 vaccine patent rights against those making vaccines to combat the virus during the pandemic.

  • May 07, 2024

    Businessman Asks Top Court To Block £19M UAE Debt Claim

    A businessman's family took its fight with a UAE bank to Britain's highest court Tuesday over an alleged £19 million ($24 million) debt, arguing that the lender should not be allowed to collect on debts he says are illegitimate and a result of fraud.

  • May 07, 2024

    Iceland Supermarket Hit With Kebab Co.'s TM Claim

    A kebab meat supplier has accused frozen food supermarket Iceland of using the trademark for its logo on several of its food items, even after the company stopped supplying the shop with its own products.

  • May 07, 2024

    Spacey To Face UK Civil Trial Over Sex Assault Claim

    Kevin Spacey successfully bid to overturn a default judgment against him at a London court on Tuesday — but the actor now faces a trial to fight off a man's £457,000 ($574,000) sexual assault claim.

  • May 07, 2024

    Court Of Appeal To Hear Secret Judicial Appointment Case

    The Court of Appeal will hear a judge's challenge to a secretive part of the judicial appointment process that critics argue hinders efforts to diversify the bench, the GMB Union said on Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    Plans To Expand Public Access To Court Docs 'Go Too Far'

    Proposals to radically expand access for members of the public to court documents risk disproportionately burdening court staff and lawyers with work and could lead to additional costs, legal experts have said.

  • May 07, 2024

    Regeneron Hit With Eye Medicine Patent Challenge In UK

    A biosimilars specialist and its licensing partner have challenged the validity of Regeneron's U.K. eye medicine patents amid their plans to market an alternative version, telling a London court that the medicine lacks inventiveness and is not worthy of protection.

  • May 07, 2024

    Apple Seeks To Block 'Hopeless' £853M Battery Class Action

    Apple urged an appeals court on Tuesday to allow it to challenge a £853 million ($1 billion) proposed class action that accuses it of concealing problems with batteries in the phones of 24 million customers, arguing there is no evidence to support the "hopeless" claim.

Expert Analysis

  • Russia Ruling Shows UK's Robust Jurisdiction Approach

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    An English High Court's recent decision to grant an anti-suit injunction in the Russia-related dispute Renaissance Securities v. Chlodwig Enterprises clearly illustrates that obtaining an injunction will likely be more straightforward when the seat is in England compared to when it is abroad, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • EU Rejection Of Booking.com Deal Veers From Past Practice

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    The European Commission's recent prohibition of Booking's purchase of Etraveli based on ecosystem theories of harm reveals a lower bar for prohibiting nonhorizontal mergers, and may mean increased merger scrutiny for companies with entrenched market positions in digital markets, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms

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    The Supreme Court's recent decision in Canada Square v. Potter, which found that the claimant's missold payment protection insurance claim was not time-barred, is bad news for affected financial services firms, as there is now certainty over the law on the postponement of limitation periods, rendering hidden commission claims viable, say Ian Skinner and Chris Webber at Squire Patton.

  • UPC Decision Highlights Key Security Costs Questions

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    While the Unified Patent Court recently ordered NanoString to pay €300,000 as security for Harvard's legal costs in a revocation action dispute, the decision highlights that the outcome of a security for costs application will be highly fact-dependent and that respondents should prepare to set out their financial position in detail, says Tom Brazier at EIP.

  • Extradition Ruling Hints At Ways Around High Burden Of Proof

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Popoviciu v. Curtea De Apel Bucharest confirmed that, in a conviction extradition case, the requested person must establish a flagrant violation of their right to a fair trial, but the court's reasoning reveals creative opportunities to test this boundary in the U.K. and Strasbourg alike, says Rebecca Hughes at Corker Binning.

  • IP Ruling Could Pave Way For AI Patents In UK

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    If implemented by the U.K. Intellectual Property Office, the High Court's recent ruling in Emotional Perception AI v. Comptroller-General of Patents, holding that artificial neural networks can be patented, could be a first step to welcoming AI patents in the U.K., say Arnie Francis and Alexandra Brodie at Gowling.

  • UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden

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    The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.

  • What Prince Harry Privacy Case May Mean For Media Ethics

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    An English High Court recently allowed the privacy case brought by Prince Harry and six other claimants against the Daily Mail publisher to proceed, which, if successful, could embolden other high-profile individuals to bring claims and lead to renewed calls for a judicial public inquiry into British press ethics, says Philippa Dempster at Freeths.

  • How European Authorities Are Foiling Anti-Competitive Hiring

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    Lawyers at Squire Patton discuss key labor practice antitrust concerns and notable regulation trends in several European countries following recent enforcement actions brought by the European Commission and U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.

  • When Can Bonuses Be Clawed Back?

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    The High Court's recent decision in Steel v. Spencer should remind employees that the contractual conditions surrounding bonuses and the timing of any resignation must be carefully considered, as in certain circumstances, bonuses can and are being successfully clawed back by employers, say Merrill April and Rachael Parker at CM Murray.

  • The State Of UK Litigation Funding After Therium Ruling

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    The recent English High Court decision in Therium v. Bugsby Property has provided a glimmer of hope for litigation funders about how courts will interpret this summer's U.K. Supreme Court ruling that called funding agreements impermissible, suggesting that its adverse effects may be mitigated, says Daniel Williams at DWF Law.

  • Trial By AI Could Be Closer Than You Think

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    In a known first for the U.K., a Court of Appeal justice recently admitted to using ChatGPT to write part of a judgment, highlighting how AI could make the legal system more efficient and enable the judicial process to record more accurate and fair decisions, say Charles Kuhn and Neide Lemos at Clyde & Co.

  • Why It's Urgent For Pharma Cos. To Halt Counterfeit Meds

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    With over 10.5 million counterfeit medicines seized in the EU in 2023, it is vital both ethically and commercially that pharmaceutical companies take steps to protect against such infringements, including by invoking intellectual property rights protection, says Lars Karnøe at Potter Clarkson.

  • Nix Of $11B Award Shows Limits Of Arbitral Process

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    A recent English High Court decision in Nigeria v. Process & Industrial Developments, overturning an arbitration award because it was obtained by fraud, is a reminder that arbitration decisions are ultimately still accountable to the courts, and that the relative simplicity of the arbitration rules is not necessarily always a benefit, say Robin Henry and Abbie Coleman at Collyer Bristow.

  • How The Netherlands Became A Hub For EU Class Actions

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    As countries continue to implement the European Union Collective Redress Directive, the Netherlands — the country with the largest class action docket in the EU — provides a real-world example of what class and mass litigation may eventually look like in the bloc, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker and Houthoff.

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