Commercial Litigation UK

Expert Analysis

• What SEP Holders Can Take Away From UK's Apple Ruling

  

  A U.K. court's recent decision in the standard essential patent dispute between Apple and Optis Cellular Technology provides encouragement for SEP owners litigating their portfolios in the U.K. and reaffirms the country's place as a patentee-friendly jurisdiction, says Tess Waldron at Powell Gilbert.

• Complex Fraud Ruling Clarifies Abuse Of Process Jurisdiction

  

  The U.K. Court of Appeal’s recent judgement in Regina v. Jones — allowing prosecution of the complex fraud case to continue — provides important guidance on trial judges’ proper use of the abuse of process jurisdiction in the context of private prosecution, says David Corker at Corker Binning.

• The Rise Of Climate Change Litigation In Europe

  

  European courts are an increasingly popular arena for preventative environmental litigation because they can give judgments that have immediate and binding effects on member states and international companies, making it imperative for companies to comply with and exceed environmental standards, say Sylvie Gallage-Alwis and Stephanie Eaton at Signature Litigation.

• Policyholder Outlook Following UK Biz Interruption Test Case

  

  In the nine months since the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in favor of policyholders in the Financial Conduct Authority’s test case on insurance coverage for COVID-19 businesses interruption claims, similar lawsuits filed against insurers show that a positive outcome for insureds is not guaranteed, say Peter Sharp and Paul Mesquitta at Morgan Lewis.

• How UK Data Breach Ruling May Rein In Insurance Claims

  

  The recent U.K. High Court ruling in Warren v. DSG Retail, which held that claimants can only pursue personal data claims provided for in data protection legislation, narrows the basis upon which claims can be made following a data breach, and could make lower-cost recovery of after-the-event insurance premiums a thing of the past, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• Takeaways On Noncompete Pacts From UK Top Court Ruling

  

  The recent U.K. Supreme Court holding in Harcus Sinclair v. Your Lawyers provides a helpful synopsis of factors to be considered in determining whether the beneficiary of a restraint of trade undertaking has legitimate interests to protect, say David Fisher and Pooja Dasgupta at CM Murray.

• Takeaways On Pre-Action Protocols From UK Patent Ruling

  

  The U.K. High Court's recent patent ruling in Add2 Research v. dSpace instructs parties in proper pre-action discussions that avoid breaches of protocol, including how to provide materials in confidence, say Angela Jack and Emily Atherton at EIP.

• Grant Thornton Ruling May Broaden Advisers' Duty Of Care

  

  The U.K. Supreme Court's ruling in Manchester Building Society v. Grant Thornton will affect other professional negligence cases as it downgraded the scope of duty test and will provide more flexibility for judges in deciding similar cases now that they have been released from the 1997 SAAMCO precedent, says Robin Henry at Collyer Bristow.

• Arbitral Enforcement Takeaways From Kazakh Asset Ruling

  

  While a Belgian court's recent decision in Stati v. Kazakhstan to uphold a freeze on Kazakhstan's assets sets a precedent in favor of arbitral award enforcement, it still highlights the difficulties of investor-state arbitration, and shows that investors' need to launch new proceedings may ultimately depend on the approach of the relevant jurisdictions, says Tomas Vail at Vail Dispute Resolution.

• Prospects Look Strong For UK Class Actions

  

  Class actions have become more commonplace in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe amid high returns, and the trend is expected to continue in areas as diverse as competition, environmental, data privacy and securities, with some busy years ahead, say Edward Coulson and Rachel Ziegler at BCLP.

• What The Financial Markets Might Look Like After Libor

  

  As the long-awaited transition out of Libor via alternative reference rates such as the Sterling Overnight Index Average edges closer, several long-term uncertainties and inherent litigation risks remain, with legacy contracts and misseling claims among the key areas of concern, say Alexander Edwards and Hannah Sharp at Rosling King.

• The UK Bribery Act At 10, And What's Next

  

  Lauded as a gold standard that put the U.K. in step with modern commercial practices, the Bribery Act turns 10 years old with just a few unmet goals, mostly at the prosecutorial end — and those charged with enforcement will likely face some real tests in the next decade, says Anneka Randhawa at White & Case.

• UK Employment Case May Lead To New Discrimination Suits

  

  The recent Maya Forstater case before the U.K. Employment Appeals Tribunal, concerning whether gender-critical beliefs are a protected characteristic, could provoke an influx of discrimination cases on the basis that philosophical beliefs could trump other protected characteristics, says Jules Quinn at King & Spalding.

• An Underused Group Litigation Tool Could Help UK Claimants

  

  Though the Financial Markets Test Case Procedure has only been used as a collective redress mechanism for the first time recently in Financial Conduct Authority v. Arch Insurance, hopefully it will be called on more often to resolve future post-Brexit issues and other pandemic cases, says Becca Hogan at Signature Litigation.

• Warnings And Guideposts From EU Sanctions Blocking Case

  

  An advocate general's recent opinion in Bank Melli Iran v. Telekom Deutschland, a European Union sanctions blocking case, highlights serious new international regulatory compliance risks but also presents helpful guidance for navigating conflicting EU and U.S. rules, say Thomas Grant at Cambridge University and Scott Kieff at George Washington University.